Exmouth man raises over £1.4k for charity in cycling challenge in son's memory

An Exmouth man has raised over £1,400 for charity in a cycling challenge he took on in memory of his son.

Patrick Neal, whose son Ollie died by suicide in 2021, completed around 1,000km of the 1,214km 90-hour Audax challenge from Paris to Brest and back before pulling out for safety reasons.

Despite having both of his bikes stolen in Grenoble in the French Alps just two days before the start date, he managed to buy a new bicycle and take part in the ride, raising a total of £1,406 for Exmouth suicide bereavement charity Pete's Dragons at the time of writing.

Patrick said: "Unfortunately I didn't finish the event, I cycled 1,000km but was running out of time to make the cutoff so had to abandon.

"I think I was probably suffering from heat exhaustion on the last section I rode, along with lack of sleep, and was struggling to ride in a straight line!

"To carry on at that point would have been dangerous, but was also the only way I could possibly make the deadline, so unfortunately I had to take the decision to stop.

"I am of course terribly disappointed but also extremely proud to have made it to the start line, which involved some equally tough qualifying rides, and even more thankful to have been able to raise money for Pete's Dragons."

A Pete's Dragons spokesperson said: "All of us here at Pete's Dragons are so incredibly proud of Patrick.

"He's achieved something incredible in the face of adversity and we are so thankful to him, and all those that have supported him, for everything he has done to raise funds for our charity.

"The money he has raised will go directly towards helping us support those impacted by suicide county-wide."

The Audax challenge is described as "the world's largest and most prestigious long-distance cycling event" and happens every four years with over 6,000 cyclists taking part.

You can still donate to the fundraiser here on JustGiving.

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