‘Lee was with me every minute’
Mum completes epic London to Paris cycle
A fundraising East Kilbride mum is riding high after completing a mammoth cycle from London to Paris in memory of her son.
Elizabeth Anne Holmes pedalled a whopping 500 kilometres over three-and-a-half days for cancer charity Bloodwise – through her family’s dedicated cause Live it for Lee – and raised £2,800.
Set up as a tribute to her son Lee Jamieson, the charity aims to find a cure for blood cancer after losing the 12-year-old to leukaemia in 2014.
The London2Paris fundraiser saw a team of riders set off in a peloton from iconic Eltham Palace through northern France and finishing at the Eiffel Tower.
And Westwood mum Elizabeth-Anne told the News Lee was with her the whole way.
“I bought the paper as I left Hairmyres train station to start my journey to London and I tucked Lee’s wee face into the upward facing pouch on my bike – he stayed there with me every minute of every day until we rode into Paris,” the 48-year-old said.
“The ride was exhausting but with such a brilliant team all around us we all got there as one – one huge step closer to beating blood cancer.
“With such incredible organisation from the Bloodwise team everyone was looked after and cared for from start to finish.
“And I’m delighted to say that my friend Angela and I crossed the finish line at the front of the group and Lee was in pole position as we rode under L’Arc de Triomphe.
“He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
“We have every ride captain and supporter in the group to thank for helping to make that happen.
“And a huge thanks to the East Kilbride News for giving me a photo of my boy just as I was leaving to take with me.”
To date, Live it for Lee has raised over £130,000 for Bloodwise.
All funds raised will go directly to Professor Michelle West, at the University of Sussex, who recently discovered a breakthrough medicine, effective and now in use against the type of lymphoma that Lee had.
Live it for Lee’s support of Michelle’s work and her breakthrough has helped find a cure for one of 137 different types of blood cancer.
Elizabeth Anne added: “We were all there with only one end in sight – an end to losing so many to this awful disease.”
Visit www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/elizabeth-anne-holmes if you would like to donate.