Pair to ride length of Britain for baby unit

pedal power will be pushed to the limit for a good cause when friends Simon Smith and Rob Wills ride the length of Britain to raise funds for the Peter Congdon Neonatal Unit at Leeds General Infirmary.

The fundraising plan has come from Simon’s desire to do something positive to mark the short life of his baby daughter, Martha, who died four years ago, and to raise money for the hospital unit which cared for her.

Simon, 34, from Church Fenton, near Tadcaster, and his wife Julia also have a two-year-old son, Isaac, and a 12-week-old daughter, Isla. Simon is a physiotherapist at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

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Talking of the circumstances of Martha’s birth in August 2007, Simon explained: “Martha was terribly ill from the start of her short life and five days later my wife Julia and I were devastated when she passed away.

“We were blessed to have the dedicated team at the Peter Congdon Neonatal Intensive Care Unit close at hand. They looked after Martha with total dedication, and I truly believe that her short life was made as comfortable as possible by their professional care.

“The team work in extraordinary circumstances week in and week out. Every day they are dealing with people living through their worst nightmares, and they do it with care, dedication and total professionalism.”

Having spoken to the unit to find out what they would most benefit from, Simon decided he wanted to buy a special kind of baby monitor costing £4,662.

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Together with his best friend Rob Wills, a physiotherapist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, he decided to do the gruelling 962-mile bike ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats in June.

They set off on June 5 and are planning to complete the ride in 11 days.

Simon is collecting sponsorship via his JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/Marthas-Cycling-Challenge