A MAN took his fundraising efforts the extra mile – by cycling from his Barnsley home to Filey in one day.
Andy Hardy, 45, wanted to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support in recognition of their help after his dad, Frank, died of lung cancer in 2018.
Instead of setting up a Macmillan coffee morning, which he admitted would have been easier, Andy chose to cycle 100 miles from his home in Carlton to Filey – where he has many happy memories of his dad.
“The support we received from Macmillan was amazing,” said Andy, of Avondale Drive. “It was great to know that they were always there if we needed them and that really helped a lot.
“I wanted to do something to show my support and to raise money so that other families can access Macmillan support if they need it.”
Andy began training during lockdown and set off at 6.30am on August 8 to complete his challenge.
“In 2011 I used to cycle to work, but that stopped when dad got ill in 2017,” added Andy. “I picked up training at the start of lockdown – so in a way lockdown was really motivating for me because I had nothing else to do but train.
“During the bike ride I had to keep motivating myself to keep going, but I was doing it for dad and I knew it would be worth it when I got to the end.”
The bike ride raised £1,920, but despite this, Andy is in no rush to repeat the experience.
“I am so happy with the amount of money raised” he said. “I set out to raise £900 and ended up doubling it.
“I did ache the day after though, but because of how much training I did it wasn’t so bad.”
