Hundreds do Southend Bikeathon for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research (From Echo)

Hundreds do Southend Bikeathon for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research

6:00am Tuesday 4th September 2012 in News By Jon Austin

HUNDREDS of cyclists saddled up for the 18th Southend Bikeathon in aid of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

The event, which raised about £38,000 last year, involved cyclists covering one or two laps of a 13-mile circular route through countryside, starting and finishing at Shoebury East Beach.

Organiser Terry Joyce said he expects the event raised at least £27,000.

He said: “We had about 620 people taking part. It was absolutely fantastic. It was a bit breezy along the seafront, but it warmed up by the afternoon.

“This year, Cory Environmental let us use three miles of their road to the landfill site, so it was a different route, off the beaten track with no traffic.”

One inspirational rider this year was Robert Hucker, seven, of Bellevue Road, Southend, who has beaten leukaemia twice.

He was first diagnosed with the blood cancer in 2008 when he was three.

He underwent more than three years of chemotherapy, finally finishing his treatment in February this year. He relapsed at the end of March with the cancer affecting his bone marrow and central nervous system, but after five months of intensive chemotherapy, he is in remission.

His mum Heather, 39, dad Ian, 42, and grandmother Catherine Hucker, 70, took part in the Bikeathon on Sunday.

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