A group of London firefighters have cycled an impressive 600 miles from London to Inverness in Scotland, raising over £12,000 and honouring their friend and colleague.
James Cameron, Tom Millward and Mark Nimmo set out on the challenge on 19 April to honour their friend, George Cherry, with Toby Dadswell driving a support vehicle throughout.
George tragically passed away the weekend before the challenge was due to begin, after living with cancer, and the group chose to take it on in his memory – paying tribute to his strength and bravery.
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After leaving Bromley Fire Station on the 19th, they cycled to Inverness Castle in Scotland. As part of the challenge, they also covered the circumference of Loch Ness as part of the Etape Loch Ness ride – 66 miles long.
James said: “This was all in honour and memory of George Cherry and to create awareness for the symptoms that eventually manifest as a Glioblastoma.
“All four of us definitely asked him for help along the way, as we all had to dig deep and he blessed us with amazing weather, fantastic interactions with some beautiful people, some of the best cycling paths we’ve ever had and a few drinks at the end of some very long days.
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“George’s life motto is: ‘Wake up smiling, laugh all day and go to bed happy’ and that’s exactly what we did and promoted.
“People stopped us in the street, pulled over to chat, approached us in car parks and donated what they could from their purses. Faith in humanity was completely restored.
“Having the support vehicle driven by Toby was immense. We couldn’t have done it without him.
“As Inverness Castle approached, we could see George’s mum Cathy and her friend Steve waving the finish line flag for us and to have her there was incredible. It truly validated what we set out to do.”
George was part of three generations of firefighters with London Fire Brigade, and is described as “a much loved character” who served 28 years with the Brigade. The team said before the challenge: “Anyone who knows him will vouch that he could make you laugh within seconds of meeting him and always brightened up your day.”
It was his family’s choice for the funds raised to come to Fire Fighters Charity – and we are so incredibly grateful to all of them.
You can still support their fundraisers here: