They came in their droves to honour the magnificent Richie Byrne

The sheer number of riders who came out to honour Richie Byrne would take your breath away.

With it emerged three weeks ago that MTB legend Richie Byrne had lost his battle with cancer, the outpouring of grief and the sheer volume and warmth of the tributes paid to him were astounding.

Richie was a man who clearly touched a huge number of people and so it is perhaps no surprise that The Last Blast ride for him in Ballinastoe - where counties Wicklow and Dublin meet - was so well supported.

This collection of photos – published here thanks to those who took them - capture the scale of the event.

We wanted to give Richie’s family, especially wife Carol and daughter Sophie, a bit of space before running this piece; hence the delay.

But the event on October 9^th saw hundreds turning out to bomb down a mountain in celebration of Richie’s life.

This who knew the man best have put together and online fund for Richie’s family and you can access that and donate online if you wish by following this link.