I would ‘cycle’ 400 miles

Conor Ward will be cycling a full 400 miles over the course of four days in order to raise money for a charity close to his heart – the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children.

Ward is a student at the North West Regional College, where he is studying music technology, and will set off from the Strand Road campus, before heading to Strabane, then Omagh, on to Enniskillen, Armagh, Newry, Downpatrick, Lisburn, Belfast, Antrim, Ballymena and will then head straight back to Londonderry.

His almost epic journey across Northern Ireland will take in all six counties, no mean feat for a young man who has just recently stopped smoking.

His charity cycle run will begin on May 28, so Conor will have at least a few weeks to train. He said that he has been putting in some training recently, and will have been “off the fags” for a good few weeks by then.

He is also planning another charity cycle in August in aid of the Foyle Downe’s Syndrome Trust.

The music student, who is originally from Foyle Springs in Londonderry but now lives in Park, said: “I cycle from Park village into the ‘tech’ on the Strand Road every day so I suppose that will stand me in good stead. I have also stopped smoking in the past few days, and I can already notice the difference in how easy it is to breathe since I have been off the fags.

“I will be stopping at one of the colleges in each county along the way, since I am starting out from the North West Regional College campus on the Strand Road, who have been very good in supporting me.

“In terms of people who have sponsored me to date, the people from the Brunswick bowling alley over the town have sorted us out with accomodation over night on one of the stops along the way, and Halford’s discounted the bikes for us.

“I have always sort of tried to do a bit for charity, and the reason I picked the two charities to donate the sponsorship to was simple enough. My father works for Foyle Downe’s Syndrome Trust and I have seen the work that he does – taking the kids out on holidays and wee days out. The fact that he takes them out on great activities and they get chance to do things they might not otherwise have got the chance to do.

“Any charity work I have done in the past, I have always tried to help out the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children, who are such a great charity and they do such great work with children who have cancer.

“The fact that these little children don’t know what is happening to their bodies makes it even more difficult for them. The Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children do great work, helping to put a smile back on their faces. They don’t get the government supprt that maybe they should get, so they are relying on charitable donations.”

A number of fundraising events will be held over the course of the next few weeks, including a gig to raise awareness in Mason’s bar on May 22, where donations will be accepted on the night. People will also be able to donate by logging on to http://www.justgiving.com/thenorthern400