Daughter finds “peace” after completing father’s charity cycle challenge

A woman has stated that finishing her father’s charity cycle ride, which she undertook after his sudden death midway through the challenge, brought her a feeling of “at peace” in his memory. Eric Oakley, aged 64, from Hampsthwaite near Harrogate, suffered a collapse and died from unknown causes during the seventh day of his cycling journey between Land’s End and John O’Groats in September. The seasoned cyclist had been fundraising to honour the memory of his father and his cycling companion, David Birtwistle, both of whom had succumbed to cancer. His daughter, Jes Oakley-Stafford, accompanied by her husband, chose to resume the route from the point near Settle where her father Eric had collapsed. Ms Oakley-Stafford informed BBC Radio York: “When we first started pedalling on Friday afternoon it was actually only two days after we’d laid dad to rest.” She continued: “So it was quite ‘flash to bang’, it was quite raw, but if anything that just made it even more important, more pertinent, to get it started and get it done.” Ms Oakley-Stafford added: “It was the most at peace I have felt since we lost dad, it just made it even more sure in my own mind that we were doing the right thing.” Due to work commitments, they opted to finish the challenge across three weekends instead of the original seven days. Regarding her father’s fitness levels, Ms Oakley-Stafford commented: “We had nowhere near the level of training that he did.” She explained: “Me and my husband are both quite physically fit, we train and go to the gym, so we’re both in good health, but it would also have been a bit ‘mental’ to try and cycle 520 miles in seven and a half days straight.” She described even their modified approach as “challenging enough,” citing the numerous hills and climbs and the need to work between cycling sessions, calling it “full on.” The couple contended with adverse weather conditions, as Storm Ashley hit on what was intended to be their final day of cycling. Ms Oakley-Stafford recounted a particularly arduous segment of the route along the Scottish coastline, stating: “It absolutely battered us physically. It was absolutely awful.” She mentioned that they succeeded in gaining entry to a closed pub for shelter after the landlord observed them knocking at the window. “They opened up especially for us to give us a coffee and to let us dry off and get out of the storm for a little bit,” she stated. She added: “It wasn’t safe to keep cycling and we still had 11 and a half miles to go on the Sunday evening, which was quite hard to take.” Consequently, the couple had to resume the challenge on Monday, returning to Yorkshire past midnight, with work scheduled for the following day. “All it did was make me even more astounded and in awe of what he was doing,” she concluded. The family, comprising Ms Oakley-Stafford, her sister Emma, 35, and their stepmother Jo, increased their fundraising target for Cancer Research UK from an initial £2,000 to £20,000, having collected over £16,500 at the time this article was written.