The Leeds dad and daughter on a 5-day, 274-mile tandem bike ride

A dad and daughter from Leeds are taking on an epic 274-mile tandem bike ride this week – and it’s all in the name of charity.

The pair are hoping that the money they raise from their charity cycle will help to find a cure for brain tumours.

Having lost someone close to the disease, it’s a personal cause for Professor Philip Howard OBE of Cookridge and his daughter Abby.

Philip is a consultant antimicrobial pharmacist, whilst Abby works as a carer for the charity Hft.

They’ll be riding on a Dawes Discovery Twin bike for the charity Brain Tumour Research.

The pair lost father Philip’s cousin Graham Green to the disease last September, following a battle with an aggressive brain tumour.

Graham was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioma in his frontal lobe in September 2019 and given just six to 12 months to live by doctors.

“He passed just a year later at the age of 67,” Philip told the Yorkshire Evening Post, adding “Graham was the funniest and most generous person you would ever meet.”

“So many friends I know have either lost someone to a brain tumour, or know someone fighting the disease.”

He went on to explain that, unlike other cancers, there is no screening or genetic testing for this specific type of brain tumour so funding for new research is important to help improve earlier detection and survival rates.

Philip and Abby will be taking part in Cycle 274 Miles in August – which gives people the chance to complete their challenge virtually either outdoors, in the gym, or at home on a static bike.

They will be taking the tandem out on the road, though, for an epic cycle that’ll see them set off from Philip’s home in Cookridge on 16 August, aiming to arrive at Abby’s home in the Easton area of Bristol on 20 August.

Taking the eastern John O’Groats to Lands End route, they will pass via Doncaster, Derby, Nottingham, Coventry, Cheltenham and Gloucester on their epic 274-mile trek.