A north-east Lincolnshire cyclist is celebrating after completing a 12-hour endurance cycle ride and raising £850 for Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance.
Waltham cyclist, Mark Staples covered 171 miles in the allotted time but then decided to round it up to complete 200 miles in 14 hours. Friends and family, including his son, ten-year-old Bradley, joined to encourage him on his way.
Mark chose to raise money for LNAA as a thank you after the helicopter and its life-saving crew were called out to treat Bradley two years ago, when he suffered traumatic injuries to his leg following a horrific cycle accident during an off-road cycle race.
He said: Given the LNAA doctors and paramedics work 12-hour shifts, I challenged myself to see how far I could ride in that time. The LNAA were fantastic when they came to Bradley’s aid.
“Without the dedication of that team giving emergency care to Bradley and then the speed of the helicopter in transporting him to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre where he underwent surgery for his injuries, the outcome may have been quite different.”
Dr Hancock, who treated Bradley, said: “We were in a big, muddy field, not the easiest environment to work in. Bradley was in a lot of pain and getting cold as he was in thick mud.
“It was potentially really serious because there are vessels and nerves there which means an injury like that could cause a lot of damage. These are the things we don’t know on the way there and the concern was whether this was life or limb threatening. Something like this could have been life-changing for a child.”
Mark chose to cycle a 30 mile loop for simplicity, taking in the villages of Waltham, North Elkington, Covenham and Tetney along the way. Every time he passed his home, he was able to refill drinks bottles and grab extra food. Belmont Tower was always in sight, a reminder of why he was attempting this challenge, as it was very close to where Bradley suffered his accident.
What makes Mark’s achievement so impressive is that he is a sprint cyclist and before embarking on this challenge he was not 100% sure that he would be able to manage the distance.
More information on how you can support Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance: https://www.ambucopter.org.uk/fundraise-for-us/
