Intrepid pair's journey of thanks (From Oxford Mail)
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Intrepid pair's journey of thanks
8:00pm Friday 14th September 2012 in News
Chris Shadbolt (right) and Dave Newton
A FATHER has raised money for the Oxford neo-natal intensive care unit that looked after his two children.
Chris Shadbolt of Clanfield, and his friend Dave Newton, cycled across the UK, from Pembroke to Great Yarmouth, on fixed-gear bikes.
The 360-mile trip, completed earlier this month, took the pair three days. Mr Shadbolt raised money for the John Radcliffe Hospital ’s neo-natal unit to thank the staff for looking after his children, William, now four, and Rupert, one.
But on the third day, Mr Shadbolt’s knee gave out and he had to miss 100 miles of the trek.
He said: “We did the ride on fixed gear bikes to make the whole thing a bit more of a challenge.
“That means for the distance I completed I had to turn the pedals almost 73,000 times, which is probably what did my knee in.”
Mr Shadbolt raised more than £1,000 through his donation website alone.
The neo-natal intensive care unit is currently going through a £5.5m expansion that will double the number of cots for ill new-born babies to 20.
