Preston dad Rob Clay added some French flair into the planning of his 106.2 mile “Stage o’ t’Tour” cycle for Baby Beat, which raised £450 for the mums and babies’ charity.
Rob, a keen cyclist who works as a senior technician at Preston’s BMW garage, took his inspiration from 2014’s Tour de France, which had its opening stage winding around the valleys of North Yorkshire as the race peloton cycled from Leeds to Harrogate, climbing 8,500ft.
Rob decided to emulate the stage’s climbs and difficulty but to bring the route closer to home so he could start and finish in Preston. He and pal Ian Harcourt, of Crewe, set out at 7 am last Saturday to pedal to Lancaster, Kendal and Kirkby Lonsdale before heading back through the Forest of Bowland, summiting Jeffrey Hill ahead of a final leg from Longridge to home. Rob said: “It was about 8-15 pm when we got back.
“We had some fuel stops and rest breaks but spent over nine and a half hours actually in the saddle. We had 12 climbs in total, the steepest of which was Jeffrey Hill. That whole return leg until we reached Longridge was really tough but I wanted to do something to support Baby Beat, which is a cause close to mine and my wife Katy’s hearts.”
Rob, who now shares a two-year-old daughter with Katy, added: “Katy and I struggled to have children and went through a lot of heartache with repeat miscarriages. We’d both like to thank everyone who has supported our Baby Beat fundraising.”
Lucy Clark, of Baby Beat, which funds bereavement services to help families who lose their babies to miscarriage, stillbirth or shortly after birth, said: “Congratulations to Rob and Ian for completing such a hard route. We are very grateful to everyone who backed them with donations.”
Rob’s online fundraising page is still accepting donations at https://www.justgiving.com/page/rob-stage-o-tour