A dad endured a grueling 200-mile bike ride to raise funds for charity and to honor his grandfather who died of cancer. He traveled from Glasgow to Manchester riding his eight-year-old daughter's pink bike.
Wesley Hamnett, 37, is a cargo handler who hails from Wythenshawe. For more than 32 hours, over six days, he pedaled his way from Glasgow, Scotland to Manchester in England riding his eight-year-old kid's 12-inch pink bike. After losing his grandfather to cancer in 2019, he decided to take a 200-mile bike ride to raise funds for charity and hospitals.
Riding on a tiny pink bike
Why ride on a tiny pink bike? Speaking to The Sun, Hamnett said that the bike has significance to him. It is the one that his two daughters used while learning to cycle; this moment, for him, is something memorable. "I still remember my first bike," he explained, "it was red with white tires." He said he remembers feeling free and feeling like he could do anything in the world.
Glasgow2Manchester on a small pink bike if this post gets 10,000 retweets and raises £1000 within the next 48hrs (by midnight on Tues 15th Sept). More info on pictures...... If not reached, will use road bike.
https://t.co/w3yZFC7rDP#TeamChristie #Macmillan #BHF #MFTCharity pic.twitter.com/uPZ7U38qo4 — Wesley Hamnett (@WezHamnett) September 13, 2020
In his Twitter post, before embarking on his one-of-a-kind bike ride, he explained that the Glasgow to Manchester ride was to thank those who have already donated and to uplift the amount already raised. To make things more interesting, he said that he will ride on his daughter's pink bike if the post gets retweeted 100,000 times and donations reach £1000 within the next 48hrs.
Pandemic made him postpone his Russia to Manchester ride
Originally, he wanted to cycle much farther, around 1,250 miles from Russia to his home. The onset of the pandemic, however, forced him to change his plans. And so he decided to cycle from Glasglow instead riding his daughter's 2013 Raleigh Molly bicycle.
He has long been wanting to cycle from Russia to Manchester and has always been obsessed with the idea — planning for it since October last year. So he thought it will be a great opportunity to encourage people to donate, and if the target is reached, he will do the "seriously stupid challenge." Tackling the 200-mile journey, he said he wasn't sure if he was going to make it, and he did barely make it. He added that It felt like he was in Formula 1 - had to change his tires eight times and felt dying during certain stretches, but everything was all worth it.
The journey is over!! #Glasgow 2 #Manchester on the little pink bike!! With a sky dive midway through! But we don’t stop there, we still have money to raise please donate via https://t.co/w3yZFC7rDP pic.twitter.com/bKpgBNwpVm — Wesley Hamnett (@WezHamnett) September 21, 2020
He was able to reach peaks to as high as 1,350 feet. He thought his bike wasn't built for such terrain but he kept pushing. Going down made him feel like a kid, scary but "amazingly fun." And upon reaching the finish line, he was welcomed by his daughters, Evie Hamnet and Tehya Baron.
His GoFundMe page was able to raise $10,767 so far. His effort will benefit Macmillan Cancer Support, Christie Charitable Fund, British Heart Foundation, and Wythenshawe Hospitals MFT Charity.
His grandfather died last year after getting it the second time. That really affected him, he said, so he wanted to pay tribute by raising funds for all the institutions that helped his family and friends.
