A personal trainer from Sale and two of his clients completed the iconic Manchester to Blackpool bike ride on 9 July, raising over £2,000 in memory of two beloved parents lost to cancer.
Gareth Gildea, age 40, of GMG Personal Training, and his clients Nick Molyneux, age 49, and his wife Frances, age 46, also from Sale, signed up for the famous 62-mile ride in March.
Nick’s mum Patricia Molyneux, age 76, had died a few weeks earlier of breast cancer in January 2023, and Gareth’s dad, Dave Gildea, who was treated for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia at The Christie, sadly passed away in January 2022 at the age of 75.
Gareth had previously completed a 7-day, 1,000 km bike ride from Sale to Poitiers in France with his Dad, Dave, to raise awareness of prostate cancer and support several cancer charities, but Nick and Fran had never ridden more than 35 miles in the past ten years before training for the Manchester to Blackpool ride this year.
The much-loved ride from Media City in Salford to the Glitterball in Blackpool passes through Leigh and Preston and then on winding country lanes through the Fylde coast to the bright lights of Blackpool.
Gareth said: “When Nick and Frances said they had decided to take on the challenge of cycling from Manchester to Blackpool to help raise money for The Christie and the hospice that looked after Nick’s mum, I wanted to encourage them and couldn’t resist the opportunity to join in.
“My dad was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in 2019, and I cannot thank The Christie enough for everything they did for him. The treatment and care provided was first class.”
Nick, who also works at The Christie and knows first-hand how patients benefit from charity support, added: “Before Frances and I started training with Gareth just before lockdown, we could never have considered doing a 62-mile bike ride, but he has patiently helped us build our fitness up over the last three years. I’m thrilled I made it to Blackpool, and it means so much to me to do this in memory of my mum, who I miss so much.
“Mum had exceptional care, first of all at The Christie during 2008 when she was initially diagnosed with breast cancer, and later at the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow in her final few weeks of life.
“The hospice staff did an exceptional job of helping to care for my mum in her final days. They were so kind and caring, not just to her but to the whole family.
“I’m proud to have helped fundraise for both organisations, which meant so much to my mum.
“I was inspired to sign up for the Manchester to Blackpool bike ride, which I had always wanted to do but never imaged I would be fit enough, by my sister Jane, who completed the London Marathon for the first time, in April, in memory of Mum.”
You can still donate to Gareth, Nick and Frances at www.justgiving.com/team/
