Dad cycling in memory of his son to stop by St Edmundsbury Cathedral
He's already raised £279,000 for Cancer Research UK
A Dad from Essex is cycling between England's Anglican Cathedrals to raise money for Cancer Research UK, all in memory of his son, Adam, who died from cancer in 2018 aged just 23.
James Van Cleef, 54, from Billericay, has already raised £279,000 through other cycling challenges, including a ride from John o’ Groats to Land’s End and a 500-mile pilgrimage from St Jean Pied de Port, France, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
He undertakes the challenges with his brother in law, Mark Bayliss, 62, under the name Riding for Adam.
Their latest challenge started last September, when they cycled round 21 of the 42 English cathedrals, and they set off to cover the other half, which includes St Edmundsbury, yesterday.
Over the next two weeks they'll complete the challenge, riding south from Bradford, in Yorkshire, to Chelmsford, and then going west to Cornwall.
James says it's thinking of Adam that allows them to persevere through long distances and tough challenges: "We thought one challenge would have done us in physically, but it didn’t. We have motivation and drive.
"We do it because of Adam, we do it because we’re committed to raising money for Cancer Research because of the importance of the work they do helping families.”
He says cycling enables him to feel close to his son: "We feel a closeness with Adam, like his approval. When we’ve met people whilst riding we can talk about Adam, when we’ve ridden through bits of the country that were special to him, there’s always moments we remember that draw back to him constantly, and we know that will keep happening...
"Each time we’ve done this, Adam’s given us the time of our lives because there’s been something about each ride that’s been phenomenal, that we’ll remember forever.
“We approach each ride knowing there’ll be another highlight, something where we can say, yes Adam was a blessing, and now, because of him and what we’re doing now, we’re able to enjoy this – whether it’s people we meet or the beauty of England. Each one we can pinpoint something quite remarkable.”
James was never expecting to raise over a quarter of a million pounds for Cancer Research UK, but given their success, the team have upped their fundraising target to £325,000.
He told us how Kiss DJ and Diversity dancer, Jordan Banjo, has supported the Ride For Adam cause: “The first thing that took us beyond our wildest dreams was when Jordan Banjo appeared on Who Wants to be a Millionaire (celebrity edition).
"I’ve met Jordan a few times and I know his father, who called me and said Jordan wanted me to be his ‘phone a friend’ and that he would be raising money for Riding for Adam and Cancer Research UK.
"He won £125,000 on the programme. We were blown away, and we couldn’t tell anybody until it was aired!
“He’s also made a couple more appearances - he did ‘The Cube’ with Perry (also from Diversity and Kiss), and again raised money for us.
“It’s phenomenal. What a difference it makes in terms of what Cancer Research can do in their research, funding and pioneering work.”
James and Mark's fundraising efforts aren't stopping after their cathedral challenge either, with plans to head out on a monumental 3,400-mile cycle from the east to the west coast of the USA, James’s home country, in August: "There’s more money to be raised. The work that needs to be done is never ending.
"I’d like to see a day when fathers don't outlive their sons and cancer is in the history books.”