Alexandra Hartland-Bridges
Eric the cycling man! 100 hours of cycling over 10 days!
Fundraising for Help for Heroes
Story
Eric Ayling is an 86 year old ex RAF Veteran who for the last 8 years has dedicated his efforts into raising valuable funds for Help for Heroes. They help support ex-service personnel from all three services who have been affected one way or another during the conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan. Support is not only for the brave service men and women who have suffered both physical and mental traumas as a direct result of their deployment, but also for their families who have been indirectly affected as a consequence.
Eric was born in September 1935 and has just celebrated his 86th birthday. He was brought up in an orphanage in Kent after his father, who was serving with the RAF in India, was killed in an earthquake. His mother was unable to keep him so handed him to a neighbour who placed him into an orphanage at 12 months old. Life was very difficult growing up so he joined the RAF age 17 as a means of escaping the harsh cruelty of the orphanage and to build a better future for himself. Through the RAF he became involved in boxing and athletics but ironically never learnt to ride a bike!
In 1969 he married his wife, Kathleen, and started a family of his own. She sadly passed away in 2014 after a long battle with breast cancer. She suffered mental illness as a result of her cancer and Eric was her carer for 20 years. They had 3 children together but in 1995 his eldest daughter, Maria, died aged just 19 from deep vein thrombosis.
In the last 8 years Eric has raised over £19,000 from completing challenges on a static bike. The challenges range from 2 hours to 50 hours over a set number of consecutive days.
In November this year, he intends to complete his longest challenge yet - 100 hours over 10 days. All in order to raise valuable funds for Help for Heroes. His target for this challenge is £10,000 and any support for this cause would be greatly appreciated.