Horncastle dad defies heat to complete 200-mile bike-ride for special-needs kids

Rob Taylor, 43, cycled from Blackpool Tower to the Skegness Clock Tower to help Eresby Special School in Spilsby, which his 11-year-old son Kody attends, buy a new, wheelchair-accessible minibus.

He was joined for most of the way by friend Dan Williams, 43, who also lives in Horncastle and teaches at another school in Spilsby.

And their achievement was made all the more praiseworthy after they were confronted by what Rob described as “the hottest Bank Holiday weekend in history” as temperatures soared well above 30C.

"It was extremely tough and exhausting,” said Rob after completing the marathon. “The weather was so hot.

"We were excited at the start but then the aches and pains started to kick in. However, it all became very rewarding when we saw the messages of support and the donations.”

More than £2,000 was raised, which will go towards the minibus appeal, which has a £20,000 target. About £7,000 has now been generated through various events and a GoFundMe page.

The appeal was launched by Rob’s wife, Amy Taylor, 47, a teaching assistant at Eresby Special School, which caters for about 100 children, aged between two and 19, who have a diverse range of special educational needs.

She is also chair of the recently-formed parent teacher association (PTA) at the school, where Kody has been a pupil for the last five years.

Amy said: “The flexible minibus is needed to take the children out on educational day trips to help them flourish in their learning abilities and in as many different environments as possible."

Rob works at RAF Coningsby as the electrical leader for the Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight, while Dan teaches at the King Edward VI Academy in Spilsby, which is part of the same David Ross Education Trust as Eresby.

Both are keen cyclists, but the idea of doing the 200-mile bike-ride only came about when Rob casually asked Dan one day: “Do you fancy doing something stupid?”

"I never expected it to gain traction but, before we knew it, we were doing it!” said Rob.

"As the idea gathered momentum, we planned the route, overnight accommodation and support vehicle, which was driven by a friend from work, Tristan Wright, with help from his wife, Kellee.

"We aimed to do about 33 miles in three sections each day. On the first day, we set off from Blackpool at 6 am on a route that took us through Preston, by the canal in Manchester and up through the Peaks to the halfway point at Sheffield, where we stayed in a hotel overnight.”

It took about 11 hours to complete and wasn’t without considerable hiccups. Dan’s bike suffered a puncture after the first 20 miles, and he later became unwell, meaning he couldn’t complete the final 33-mile section.

"Dan hadn’t been able to do as much training as he’d have liked,” explained Rob. “But he managed to do all of the second day.

"We set off at 5 am and went from Sheffield over the River Trent, into Lincoln and through places such as Kirkby on Bain, Spilsby and Burgh le Marsh before hitting the main road to Skegness, where we arrived at about 2.45 pm."

The duo were greeted by a gleeful Amy, who beamed: “They absolutely smashed it!

"I was so proud of them both. Cycling 200 miles is some challenge in itself but in that heat, it was insane! They should be so proud of themselves, and a big thankyou also to Tristan and Kellee for giving up their weekend.”

Amy and Rob, who also have an 18-year-old daughter, Ashley, hope the £20,000 goal for the minibus can be reached by the summer of 2027.

The next major fundraising event is a summer fair and sports day at the school on Thursday, July 16. And if you would like to donate to the appeal’s GoFundMe page, the link is https://gofund.me/26ce5df39