Bereaved dad from Diss cycling 400 miles to raise money for EACH
Ian Doe is making the gruelling 'West to East’ journey from Wales to Lowestoft in memory of his son, Callum
A bereaved dad from Diss is cycling 400 miles in four days to raise money for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), at the end of the month.
Ian Doe is making the gruelling 'West to East’ journey from St Davids, in Wales, to Ness Point, in Lowestoft, in memory of his son, Callum.
He was cared for by EACH after the 13-year-old was diagnosed with a brain tumour on Christmas Eve 2018, and later died at their hospice in Framingham Earl, in August 2020.
Ian told us he can't wait to get on his bike, and fundraising is going well:
"I'm quite looking forward to it, to be honest. It's going to be quite a challenge- it's just about 100 miles a day, sometimes more and sometimes less of course. There's going to be some good hills and the like. There's ten riders doing it including me and they are people that I've never met, so that's going to be very interesting as well, meeting some new people and seeing more along the way".
"I've got a Just-Giving page and because the actual challenge cost me £500, initially I thought I'd just raise that money because other-wise I could have given that money straight to charity. But, I've already passed that and am now up to £800 already, so I may just raise that up to £1,000- just so that's another target for me to hit".
"We couldn't think of a better place of where we'd rather he be"
He went on to say that EACH have always been there for them:
"Even now after nearly two years, we still have counselling sessions after we lost Callum. The care we've been given right from the time he was diagnosed to the time he passed away, was really good. They really looked after him well and we couldn't think of a better place of where we'd rather he be".
Ian’s journey begins in St Davids, in Pembrokeshire, on 24th May and he will arrive in Lowestoft on 28th May.