Prostate Buddies D&G will relaunch its monthly meetings on Wednesday after an 18 month long wait and a major fundraising boost.
Delighted chairman, Roly Proudlock, praised two men who cycled more than 1,000 miles in seven days and collected almost £9,000 in sponsorship money for the charity and Alzheimer Scotland.
He said: “Ian Baird from Kirkbean and Mark Hunt from Southerness, both local workers, trained for many months to build up the strength and stamina to achieve this gargantuan effort recently.
“It involved starting and finishing each lap of slightly over 21 miles at Southerness Lighthouse, setting of at 6am and often climbing into bed well after 10pm, having put a few more of the targeted 47 laps under their belts.
“We are really grateful to Ian and Mark for their efforts and to all those who gave in any way to make the challenge such a huge success.
“Being a local charity, Prostate Buddies will spend all of the hard earned cash received, in this region, to help men come to terms with their cancer diagnosis and also to raise prostate awareness.”
Ian and Mark, both members of the 710cc Cycle Club at Southerness, had to contend with some very hot weather, strong headwinds, and more than a few aches and pains along the way.
Mark, 41, was forced to miss some of the laps with a painful knee but, after urgent medical attention, got back in the saddle and rode alongside his buddy for the last couple of days.
On the final day they arrived back at Southerness to a welcome from supporters where Ian – on his 64th birthday – had just enough strength to make an impromptu and slightly emotional speech to the supporters.
The first meeting of Prostate Buddies D&G since the pandemic began will take place at 7pm in Dumfries Baptist Church Centre. All welcome – but they must be fully vaccinated.
