Three-time cancer survivor cycles for hospice
Patrick McIntosh, who lives in Outwood, Surrey, starts his expedition on Sunday riding from Vancouver to Calgary.
The 68-year-old told the BBC he wanted to "do as much as he could" to support St Catherine's Hospice in Crawley while he was still fit and healthy.
Mr McIntosh said: "Having survived cancer three times, I understand the importance of vital care and appreciate the important mission of charities like St Catherine's Hospice."
Mr McIntosh has been fundraising for the hospice for almost 40 years.
"St Catherine's Hospice is an extraordinarily wonderful organisation. In the past they supported some of my friends who have now passed away," he said.
Mr McIntosh is no stranger to taking on extreme challenges to fundraise for the charity.
These include cycling from Twickenham to Tokyo in 2019 for the Rugby World Cup, a solo expedition to the South Pole and cycling from the UK to Barcelona last year.
"Basically, I am living in remission. I will spend the rest of my life undergoing medical checks," Mr McIntosh.
"I think it is also important to do the things you enjoy while you still can.
"For me, alongside with supporting the charity, I absolutely love travelling."
Mr McIntosh has travelled to many other places, including Siberia, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, rural France and Malawi.
"I love cycling across different places, I can enjoy the smells of the flowers, I can take in the views and I can stop and talk to people."
He adds he hopes to complete his latest challenge in 16 days and his fundraising target is £20,000.
He explains if he hits this target, two sponsors will contribute £2.50 to every £1 raised - totalling £50,000.
Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.
'I'm still in one piece after Everest Base Camp'
Adventurer leads world's highest bike ride bid
St Catherine's Hospice
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Islanders Schaefer, Aitcheson Invited To World Junior Summer Showcase
By: Kai Russel On Sunday, Hockey Canada announced that they invited 44 players to the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase. Among those 44 were recent New York Islanders draftees Matthew Schaefer and Kashawn Aitcheson. 44 players invited to World Junior Summer Showcase Forty-four players will begin the road to the 2026 World Juniors at the Summer Showcase in Minneapolis. Schaefer, drafted first overall by the Islanders in June, scored seven goals with 15 assists for 22 points in 17 games with the Erie Otters of the OHL last season. The 17-year-old defenseman is already familiar with international competition, as he represented Canada's 2025 National Junior Team and won gold at the IIHF U18 Men's World Championship. Schaefer will be the second-youngest Canadian at the Summer Showcase, aside from projected 2026 first-overall pick Gavin McKenna. Taken by the Islanders at 17th overall in 2025, Aitcheson will join Schaefer and the Canadian d-corps at the Summer Showcase. The left-shot defenseman scored 26 goals with 33 assists for 59 points in 64 games with the Barrie Colts of the OHL last season. Like Schaefer, Aitcheson has experience representing Team Canada as a fellow gold medalist at the IIHF U18 Men's World Championship. Schaefer and Aitcheson's presence at the Summer Showcase is a welcome progression for the Islanders' prospect pool, which has seen a rising stock since the 2025 NHL Draft. The Summer Showcase will be available to stream live at PHOTO: @NYIslanders
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Summer McIntosh beats Katie Ledecky to claim world title in women's 400m freestyle
For Summer McIntosh of Canada, it's one gold medal won at the swimming world championships with four to go. McIntosh is aiming to win five gold medals in individual events at the worlds in Singapore, and the first one came Sunday in the 400-metre freestyle on the first of eight days in the pool. Only legendary American Michael Phelps has ever won five individual medals in the worlds. He also did it at the Olympics. The 18-year-old McIntosh, from Toronto, extended her Canadian-best career gold medal total to five at long-course worlds, and with her ninth medal overall moved into a tie with Kylie Masse and Penny Oleksiak for most ever by a Canadian. McIntosh won but did not break her own world record, winning in three minutes 56.26 seconds. Li Bingjie of China took silver (3:58.21) with a late charge to leave American Katie Ledecky (3:58.49) with bronze.A year ago in the Olympics, Ledecky also took bronze in the 400. McIntosh was the silver medallist with gold for Australian Ariarne Titmus of Australia. Titmus is taking a year off and did not swim and has since lost her world record in the event to McIntosh. For Ledecky, a nine-time Olympic gold medallist, it was her 27th medal in the world championships in an astonishing career. She won her first Olympic gold in 2012 in London, and then started adding world championship medals beginning in Barcelona in 2013. About 25 minutes after winning the 400, McIntosh came back and qualified first in the 200 individual medley, clocking 2:07.39."I've never done a double like that," McIntosh told CBC Sports' Devin Heroux. "I think the 400 free, at past world championships and Olympics, I haven't been at my best. And I haven't been where I wanted to be. So, to finally stand in the centre of the podium is promising for the rest of the meet." The Canadian added: I think I'm at my best. I'm in the best shape of my life. So now I just have to act on that and put it into all my races." Mary-Sophie Harvey of Trois-Rivières, Que., also qualified for Monday's final after finishing one spot behind McIntosh in 2:10.19. In other Canadian results, Montreal's Ilya Kharun and Toronto's Josh Liendo failed to qualify for the men's 50m butterfly final after finishing third and sixth, respectively, in the second semifinal. Reporter Devin Heroux will be on site in Singapore speaking to Canadians following their races, and will join The Ready Room show live on YouTube every day after finals, with Brittany MacLean Campbell hosting from Toronto. The show will include Canadian highlights, athlete interviews and who won three gold medals a year ago at the Paris Olympics, holds the world record in the 400m free — 3:54.18. She will face off again with Ledecky in the 800 free later in the meet, probably the most anticipated race in Singapore. Watch live coverage of every swimming race on and CBC Gem. The full competition schedule is available here. Though she holds the 400m free world record, McIntosh had failed to win gold in the event in the Olympics or previous world championships. McIntosh will also be after gold in the 400m individual medley, and the 200m shock of the first day might have been Chinese 12-year-old Yu Zidi, who was the seventh fastest in the women's 200m medley qualifying and will swim in the final. Asked her reaction, she replied: "Oh, I'm in," unaware she had advanced. "I will continue to work harder," she added. "I hope to find a breakthrough at these world championships and show my potential." Asked for her reaction to the competition, she added. "You can feel it's quite intense. I try not to think so much and just give it my all."The 200 individual medley might not even be her best event with the Chinese likely quicker in the 400m medley and the 200m butterfly. In the other early individual final Sunday, Lukas Martens of Germany won the men's 400 free in 3:42.35, edging Sam Short of Australia who was .02 behind. Bronze went to Kim Woomin of South Korea in 3:42.60. Martens is the defending Olympic champion and also holds the world record of 3:39.96. The other two gold medals Sunday were in the relays. The United States was the favourite in both and failed to win either. The Australian women took gold just ahead of the United States in the 4x100 freestyle relay. The Aussies clocked 3:30.60 with 3:31.04 for the US. The Netherlands took bronze in 3:33.89. The Canadian quartet of Brooklyn Douthwright, Taylor Ruck, Sienna Angove and Ingrid Wilm didn't qualify for the final, finishing fifth in their heat with a time of 3:37.50. On the men's side in the 4x100, Australia also took gold in 3:08.97. Italy took silver in 3:09.58 with bronze for the United States in 3:09.64. Canada's Filip Senc–Samardzic, Josh Liendo, Antoine Sauve and Ruslan Gaziev finished last among the eight teams (3:12.89). There were three other semifinal results on Sunday. Qin Haiyang of China took the 200 breaststroke in 58.24 with Paris Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi second in 58.62. The Italian was initially disqualified for moving on the blocks, but was later reinstated on appeal. Gretchen Walsh of the United States and Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium tied in the 100 butterfly in 56.07, and Maxime Grousset of France took the men's 50 fly in 22.61. Meanwhile, the United States is swimming with what appears to be a weakened team after officials acknowledged Sunday that some members of the team had come down with "acute gastroenteritis" at a training camp in Thailand prior to arriving in Singapore. Nikki Warner, a spokeswoman for USA Swimming, would not say how many fell ill in Thailand. She cited health confidentiality rules. She said all American swimmers had traveled to Singapore.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Blake Wheeler Pens Messsage to Jets Fans Following Retirement
Longtime member of the Winnipeg Jets and former captain Blake Wheeler recently announced his retirement from professional hockey. This weekend, he released a lengthy statement to fans, his playing cities, coaches and family as a thank-you to important figures in his life. The full message from Wheeler: With the news out that my playing days are behind me, I wanted to share a message of gratitude for all of the opportunities I've received over the years. Thank you to every coach, staff member, and fan who supported me along the way. A special thank you to all of the medical and equipment trainers I had the pleasure of working with. To my teammates: you pushed me to be my best, and I leave the game with friendships that will last a you to the Phoenix Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Atlanta Thrashers, and New York Rangers for the opportunity to wear your sweaters. It was an honor every time I stepped on the ice. To the city of Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Jets organization, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You embraced me and my family from day one and gave me the honor of serving as your captain. Together, we built something special. I'll never forget stepping on the ice for The Whiteout for every big playoff game at home. The energy, the pride, the connection. It was unforgettable. It was more than hockey. It was home. To my parents, Pat and Jim, thank you for your unwavering support. When no one believed in me, you did, and I will always be grateful. To my kids, Louie, Leni, and Mase, sharing this journey with you has been the greatest joy of these past 16 years. I love you. Sam, you have been by my side every step of the way. No one has supported me like you, and I'm thankful for your love and friendship. I love you forever and always. I owe everything I have in this world to the game of hockey, and for that, I am truly grateful. Blake Wheeler
