Former Doncaster man with incurable cancer raises £16,000 on Scarborough-Whitby bike ride

David Bamforth, 52, who originally comes from Mexborough, took on the ride on Saturday along with around 20 of his friends – and inititally set himself of raising £15,000 for Myeloma UK and fund research into a cure.

But the group eventually drew in more than £16,200 after setting off from the Tea Pot Cafe in Scarborough and arriving at the Whalebone Arch in Whitby several hours later.

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

David, who now lives in Buxton, still has friends and family in South Yorkshire was joined by a string of friends on the challenging ride between the two seaside resorts along the undulating coastal route.

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.

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 to David’s appeal.