A COVENTRY dad has raised more than £2,500 to help sick and premature babies with a 100-mile cycling marathon – after the birth of his son Jamie.
Adrian Yeo has a very personal reason to participate in this year’s Prudential RideLondon Surrey 100 on July 30, raising money for charity Bliss.
As we reported last month, last June, Adrian’s wife – Amy – gave birth to their son via c-section at 28 weeks.
Amateur cyclist Adrian, 46, completed the course in a time of six hours and 34 minutes.
He said: “Cuddling Jamie and Amy at the end of the ride made me cry.
“It was fantastic to have my family there when a year ago we were unsure that Jamie would actually make it.
“Then talking to some of the other Bliss riders was fantastic, again, the sense of being part of something bigger was fantastic,” said the lawyer who took his place alongside more than 100,000 cyclists.
Baby Jamie weighed just 2lb at birth and spent 11 weeks at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.
The couple’s first child, he spent three weeks intubated and battled chronic lung disease during his stay on the neonatal unit.
After going home, Jamie needed oxygen to help with his breathing for a few months but is now a healthy one-year-old.
At one point in the race, Adrian was cut-off by another cyclist and fell off his bike.
He said: “Falling off my bike was probably the worst point because of the anxiety about having to start from scratch half-way up Leith Hill.
“But getting to the top felt pretty good after that.
“There were times when I really wanted to quit, both before the ride and during it, but the thought of the support and that I would be letting Jamie and the other sick babies down was a real motivation.
“The support of everyone around me encouraging me to get back on my bike and keep going was really great.
“People’s support has been incredible and is a demonstration of the positive side of human-nature.
“Whilst I was cycling I was receiving donations from people who were following my progress through Facebook and this was an enormous encouragement – it highlighted why I was doing the ride.”
