Supporters, Daniel Pruchnie, 31, and Matt Carr, 30, took on a fundraising journey of unimaginable feats, cycling from London to Wales, a whopping 320 miles, in just four days. The long time friends raised more than £7,000 for Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation in memory of Matt’s mum, Hazel.
“The cycle from London to Tenby was a first for me whereas Matt had more practice cycling, I didn’t even own a bike when we signed up!” Dan recalls.
“We ultimately decided to do it because of Matt’s mum, Hazel Carr who died from lung cancer in 2017 and we wanted to do it for Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation as it is a fantastic cause close to our hearts.”
Putting our stamina to the test…
“Originally, we were going to cycle London to Paris in summer 2020, which would have been a lot less hilly, but of course the pandemic meant we had to re-think our fundraiser!
“We decided London to Wales because me and Matt grew up together in Cardiff, and now we live close by in London, so it was two places that meant something to us.
“Finally, the date for departure arrived and the first couple of days felt pretty good and went according to plan. The weather wasn’t too bad, and we were in good shape from all the training, but the final two days were terrible cycling.
“We were battling with heavy rain and strong winds, but we kept each other entertained and Matt played music through his speakers. Singing and talk definitely made the days and miles fly quicker.
“Plus, the donations just kept flowing which really motivated us on those long days. The longest day was from Keynsham to Margam which was just over 12 hours cycling!”
Mile 320
“When we reach mile 320, we were completely exhausted but also extremely proud.
“It finally sunk in how far we had come and the realisation of leaving London on our bikes and being in West Wales was an awesome feeling.
“We celebrated with a beer overlooking the beach in Tenby which was a fantastic moment for us to share after a challenging four days.
“When we started, we had an ambitious goal of raising £5,000 and thanks to some incredible donations we have reached over £7,290. We are absolutely filled to have raised this amount of money and massively grateful for all donations.”
Doing this challenge, putting ourselves to the test was well worth it. Me and Matt grew up together, our families are very close so doing this in memory of Hazel just made it all the more special.
