£33k! Cash pours in after cancer survivor dies on charity bike ride
A CANCER survivor on a ‘personal crusade’ to raise money for charity suffered a fatal heart attack during a cycling event.
Robin Chard, 48, was fundraising for Cancer Research UK after losing several family members to the disease.
But he collapsed in the middle of the 100-mile bike ride on Sunday.
Since his death in Prudential’s RideLondon-Surrey event his online fundraising page has received more than £33,000 in donations – far beyond his initial £400 target.
The IT consultant, who himself overcame the cancer Hodgkin lymphoma in childhood, lost both his father Edwin and stepfather Bert to lung cancer. His mother-in-law, Sheila, also died from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Writing about the deaths on his JustGiving page, Mr Chard, a father himself, had said: ‘Cancer is an awful disease which most, if not all of you, either know or have known someone who had or has been affected by cancer.
‘So you can see it’s a bit of a personal crusade, but I’m not riding a white charger, just a bike [for] 100 miles in and around London.’
But the cyclist, from Bicester, Oxfordshire, collapsed near the 25-mile mark at Kingston Bridge, south- west London.
Despite receiving immediate treat- ment from fellow riders and paramedics, he died at Kingston Hospital.
His devastated wife Vickie paid tribute to him yesterday, saying: ‘Robin was doing something he loved to raise money for Cancer Research UK, a cause that was very important to him after losing his father, his mother’s partner and my mother to cancer.’
Mr Chard’s JustGiving page showed he had raised more than £1,400 before the ride. But yesterday, donations were still flooding in as the total moved above £30,000.
One tribute, believed to be from Mr Chard’s daughter Erin, read: ‘Hi daddy, I’m so proud of you. Well done for getting as far as you did. I love you so so so much, I know you’ll be proud of all the money you raised. You did such an amazing thing. I love you.’
Mr Chard’s sister Andrea Day, 43, last night urged people to ‘keep donating’. She said: ‘We are very touched by the kind messages and donations from everyone on Robin’s JustGiving page.
‘As you can imagine, we are all very shocked and saddened by the news of his passing. He was a beloved son, husband, father, brother and friend to so many and will be sorely missed.’
Organisers of the Ride-London-Surrey event said 33 riders out of more than 29,000 were taken to hospital. Two riders crashed their bikes in separate incidents, and were airlifted to hospital with severe head injuries. ÷ To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Robin-Chard
‘It was very important to him’