Man diagnosed with incurable blood cancer to embark on Scarborough to Whitby and back 50-mile cycle ride

David Bamforth, 52, from Chelmorton, near Buxton, will take on the ride on April 2, along with around 20 of his friends, in a bid to raise £15,000 for Myeloma UK and fund research into a cure.

They will set off from the Tea Pot cafe in Scarborough at around 10.30am, arriving at the Whalebone Arch in Whitby between 1pm and 2pm.

Despite contracting Covid and pneumonia while undergoing cancer treatment over the Christmas period and experiencing breathing problems as a result, David is determined to go ahead with this mammoth challenge.

Although David, a railway operator for Freightliner, is well aware he may not see a cure in his lifetime, he at least wants to ensure there’s hope for future patients.

The father-of-one has raised £13,101 out of his £15,000 target so far.

He was diagnosed with myeloma, an incurable blood cancer which kills around 3,000 in the UK each year, in September 2021.

“It was a total shock,” he said. “The cancer came out of the blue."

Still struggling to come to terms with the news, he met up with his friend Mat Wilkinson and over a few beers at the pub, the friends decided to do a charity bike ride.

What started off as a throwaway idea, mostly to try and keep David’s mind off the devastating reality of being diagnosed with an incurable cancer, snowballed into the ride from Scarborough to Whitby and back.

“It was more a joke at the start," said David.

"My friend said, ‘Why don’t we jump out of a plane?’.

"In the end we decided we could do a bike ride.

"It is going to be a challenge but I’ve been practising and it’s not been too bad."

Visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/d-bamforth1 if you'd like to donate.