Team will cycle to Paris in Newport pal’s memory (From South Wales Argus)

Team will cycle to Paris in Newport pal’s memory

6:30pm Monday 18th February 2013 in News

A TEAM are cycling from London to Paris in memory of a Newport man who died aged just 21 of Lymphoma.

Matthew Holloway, 31, Stephen Spooner, 27, both from Maindee, and Andrew Mitchell, 42, and Mike Jones, 37, from Cardiff, will cycle more than 300 miles in memory of Dan Daloia, a Royal Gwent Hospital employee who died on September 4 2012 after a five-month battle with the illness.

All money raised will go to Leukaemia Lymphoma Research.

Mr Mitchell said: "The three of us worked with Dan in the Health Records Department at the Gwent, and we’d pop up and see him while he was ill most days.

"Mike got to know him through us, and was a big support when Dan was ill.

"During Dan's treatment he had talked to me about doing a sponsored cycle ride when he got better to raise money for research into the illness. He didn’t want anyone to go through what he went through.

"So to carry on with Dan's wish the four of us are cycling from London to Paris in June as part of an organised event by Leukaemia Lymphoma Research.

"We’ve just started training, and we’ve raised about £800 so far, but we are hoping to raise £5,000 eventually.

"We will cover about 75 miles a day for four days to get to Paris.

"It is a bit daunting because most of us haven’t been on a bike in 20 odd years, but it’s for a very good cause."

Leukaemia Lymphoma Research is the only UK charity dedicated to improving the lives of patients with all types of blood cancer, including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

They focus on finding causes, improving diagnosis and treatments, and running ground-breaking clinical trials for all blood cancer patients.

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/teams/team-daloia