Brave HBPW employee Ben Daly, who has been diagnosed with terminal bile duct cancer, has put his illness to one side and pedalled his way up some of the UK’s steepest roads to raise a staggering £12,000 for the hospital treating him.
Ben,28, who joined HBPW in July 2014, has also recently passed his EngTech with the Institution of Civil Engineers, formally qualifying him as a CAD Technician.
Now, the firm has agreed to make up his charitable pot to £15,000 as Ben puts his feet up to enjoy a well-earned cuppa after his hard, seven-day ride with brother George,26.
“I was diagnosed in August 2020 and had successful liver surgery the following month to remove a tumour, followed by chemotherapy at Weston Park, the specialist cancer unit attached to Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
“However, the chemo was not entirely successful, the tumour returned and, subsequently, I was given the ‘terminal’ diagnosis.”
Not wanting his illness to be in vain, Ben – who is from a family of cyclists – set to work on plotting a 100-miles a day route to not only raise cash for the Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, but to also conquer a series of notorious bucket list cycling ‘climbs’.
“Across seven days we cycled from my home town of Rotherham to the Lake District, via Clitheroe and Morecambe, and then from Ambleside through Yarm, North Yorkshire and back down into West Yorkshire before heading home. We stayed in b&bs en route and, latterly, at my gran’s house in Leeds for a couple of nights.
“Our ‘circle’ of the North also took in Hardknott Pass in the Lake District, the gruelling Great Dun Fell, at 835m the highest paved road in the UK, along with Holme Moss at Holmfirth in Last of the Summer Wine country – a mere 524m – as well as the Tan Hill Inn in the Yorkshire Dales, the highest hostelry in the land! All of these, and a few others, were on my cycling bucket list!”
The charity which will receive the proceeds of Ben’s endeavours supports victims of cancer.
“It is a broad charity,” said Ben, “in as much that people can tap into it for moral, financial and empathetic care and help. They support research, provide transport to those unable to make their own way to the unit, even funding Christmas day lunches for working staff.
“Ironically, I feel great at the moment, despite my prognosis, and am probably fitter than many people my age. However, you still have to deal with whatever life throws at you, and this charity fund raiser is my way of giving back to those who have and continue to support me and my family.”
The website for the charity is www.westonpark.org.uk and Ben’s Just Giving page is www.justgiving.com/fundraising/btotn
Donations are welcome.