A student was told it would be a "miracle" if he managed to complete one last journey in memory of his mum.
Sean Clansey and his girlfriend Elishimma Forrester were doing a charity cycle from Liverpool to Leeds, in memory of his mum Sharon Pape, who died from a stroke and brain aneurysm in 2020 aged 50. The couple were following the 127 mile route of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, but the journey was beset with problems from the start.
Before the journey even began, Sean's bike was stolen leading to the two of them having to use donated, second-hand bikes. Then, on Monday April 10 - the first day of the trip - the 22-year-old's bike 'fell apart', leading to a five hour walk home.
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Sean, from Kirkby, said: "Monday we were starting and got to Haskayne just near Ormskirk and my gear chain fell apart so we had to walk home for five hours, it wasn't the best start. My brother managed to fix my bike with parts he had and we started again on Tuesday.
"We got to Burscough and my girlfriend's tyre popped. We managed to get it sorted while in Burscough but we then got to Chorley and my gear chain started to go again. We went to Halfords and they even started to laugh at us. It was pouring down and they asked us where we were going to stay, I just told them we were going to camp.
He continued: "My bike was snookered and we only managed 45 miles on the first day but we set up in a field and stayed in a derelict shed because it was just pouring down. We had to clear empty cider bottles and rubbish from in there.
"We started off at 8am on Wednesday. We got a few miles down the canal and both our bikes had popped tyres. We walked back to Halfords and explained what we were doing and they ended up giving us two spare inner tubes for free. They said it would be a miracle if we got to Leeds with the bikes. We then went to leave but the cleaner saw we looked like drowned rats and gave us two massive, luminous orange coats to wear and they've saved our lives to be honest."
It wasn't the only acts of kindness the couple encountered on their ride. Sean said: "We then got to Accrington and we were soaked. We stopped off at the Thorn Inn and they were just so welcoming and friendly. They fed us and let us dry our clothes we even put our trainers on the radiator. We were only going to stop for 15 minutes but because of the rain we ended up staying for three hours. We then got to Brierfield and by this point, our tents were ringing wet. We had only done 30 miles."
Sean, who is currently studying Marketing and Business Management at the University of Hull, decided to make the trip as it was a journey his mum had always dreamed of making. He continued: "The Liverpool to Leeds canal was a bike journey that my mum always wanted to do, sadly she didn't get round to doing it before she passed away. Not only do I get to do this journey to raise money for disadvantaged children, I also get to do it in memory of my beautiful mum who I know has been with me every peddle of the way.
"This is hard but it's nothing compared to what I had to deal with at that part of my life. Who I am is all down to my mum. I would be a shadow of a man without her."
Both Sean and Elishimma are set to travel to Sri Lanka in the summer, with them helping disadvantaged children with their education, sport and English for a month.
Writing on his JustGiving page, Sean said: "I will be focusing on the Sports Development program within an underfunded Sri Lankan school. Working closely with local governments and schools, I aim to strengthen sports development all over Sri Lanka and create a culture of inclusiveness as well as funding for equipment and facilities.
"For a month, I will be working alongside and helping a small Sri Lankan community grow and develop. Living in a hut and eating self-sustainably whilst making a positive impact in the lives of these children will be a great challenge and experience."
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