Father and son team cycle for UHB Charities

Father and son team Tom and Ed Barry have cycled from John O’Groats to Land's End and have raised £6,677 so far for the Critical Care Unit at Selly Oak Hospital, through UHB Charities [now the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity].

The 984.4 mile journey took more than 10 days, three punctures, two new tyres and one new spoke.

The pair were raising money in memory of Michael Barry, Tom’s Father and Ed’s grandfather, who sadly passed away at Selly Oak Hospital on Christmas Eve last year.

A retired Oxford University don, Michael died after falling off his bike on an icy road during one of his daily 20-mile cycle rides. He was riding down an ice-covered slope on a Cotswold lane when he crashed and suffered serious head injuries.

Tom and Ed wanted to raise money for the Critical Care Unit where Michael was looked after by “the most dedicated and impressive group of specialist doctors and nurses".

Ed explains: “We want to ensure that the wonderful Selly Oak Hospital continues to have the complex but costly equipment so others might have the same care as my Granddad.”

Helen Gyves, Acting Senior Critical Care Nurse, added: "The Critical Care Team at Selly Oak Hospital was proud to have cared for Michael and his family and would like to say thanks to Ed, Tom and Nicola for their unbelievable effort and hard work, and for the resulting donation. We hope to use the funds towards the purchase of a specialist spinal bed which will be invaluable for trauma patients."

Tom and Ed chose to go against the tradition of cycling from South to North and were followed by Tom’s wife Nicola, who drove 2,500 miles in the "support car". This meant that spare tyres were never far away.