The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A daunting 150-mile bike ride for charity is drawing near for a Holbeach father and daughter.
Steve and Dayna Kingshott are planning to pedal from Holbeach fire station to Crawley fire station on Saturday, August 23, to raise money for two charities close to their heart.
Steve – a retained firefighter at Holbeach – is fundraising for The Fire Fighters’ Charity, while Dayna (17) is supporting the Boston and South Holland branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Dayna’s grandma (Steve’s mother-in-law) Barbara Johnson, also of Holbeach, suffers from MS and has been wheelchair-bound for around 15 years.
Dayna said: “My grandma has suffered from MS for over 30 years and I have seen first hand the impact it’s had on her everyday life.
“From cooking dinner, watching TV to even getting dressed. It is all a struggle.
“She’s a member of the Boston and South Holland branch and they take them out on day trips, hold meetings and do little fun events – all of which need funding and through raising money for them, I can help towards the expenses.”
Steve, who was 47 on Saturday, said: “Dayna came up with the idea of the bike ride. She did a 6km run around Holbeach last year and raised a couple of hundred pounds.
“This year she wanted to something a bit bigger, so I said I’d do this bike ride with her.”
The Kingshotts are from Sussex originally, and during a recent return visit they took their bikes with them to get used to some hilly riding.
Steve said: “The majority of the route we’ll take is back roads. We’re hoping to get a good bit done on the first day, find somewhere to sleep and finish on the Sunday.
“I think it will take us about 20 to 22 hours.”
Dayna is a student at the College of West Anglia in King’s Lynn and Steve is a night porter at The Supreme Inn at Bicker.
The duo have set up online donation pages and so far have about £700 pledged. Dayna’s is www.virginmoneygiving.com/theddchallengems and Steve’s is www.virginmoneygiving.com/theddchallengefire
