A TEAM of cyclists including riders from Kingswood have a special reason for raising money for and awareness of organ donation.
Leading the group on Coast to Coast Challenge is Colin Gray, whose 11-year-old daughter Elodie had a heart transplant more than a decade ago.
Also taking part in the 175-mile weekend ride from Whitehaven to Sunderland are two teachers from Beacon Rise Primary School, Luke Speirs and Ross Lee. Both taught Elodie before she moved on to Culverhill School.
The ride, which was due to take place on September 27 and 28, is raising money for the Red Sky Foundation, which supports children who need cardiac care and their families.
Elodie, who lives in Kingswood with Colin, mum Sarah, and siblings Freya and Austin, was planning to join on her own little bike as the riders crossed the finish line on Roker Beach.
She received her heart transplant in Newcastle in 2014, when she was just a few months old. She loves to sing and play football and has even taken part in the transplant games.
Elodie and her family are keen to increase awareness of the need to join the organ donation register so that others can be helped as she has been.
Colin, 52, has been training hard for his first big cycle ride.
He said: “People don’t always realise how important it is to confirm their decisions around organ donation – please join the register. “Elodie is a living, breathing example of just how important organ donation is.”