Grampy is going on a Bike Ride

Michael Adlam is raising money for The Esme Orike Foundation

Lands' End to John O'Groats · 2 June 2025

The Esme Orike Foundation was created in memory of our daughter, who tragically passed away from a rare cancer called CIC-DUX4 sarcoma. This disease affects children and young adults with low survival rates. The foundation funds research into rare cancers and provides financial support to families

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TARGET RAISED TO £15,000 - THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR AMAZING GENEROSITY

Grampy is going on a Bike Ride - Land's End to John O’Groats!

Beginning on the 2nd of June 2025, and at the relatively young age of 75, I plan to cycle from Land's End to John O’Groats over two weeks to raise funds for Esme’s charity (The Esme Orike Foundation). My initial target being £10,000, which equates to £10 per mile as I have plotted a route of 1000-miles to avoid busy A-roads. My route will see me stopping overnight at Fowey, Crediton, Weston, Standish, Kidderminster, Nantwich, Preston, Penrith, Moffat, South Queensferry, Pitlochry, Aviemore, Alness and Skail, hopefully arriving at John O’Groats on the 16th of June. Although I will be cycling on my own, I will be ably supported throughout by my brother-in-law, Chris Lines, who (hopefully) will be following me in the backup vehicle!

On the 5th of September 2024 my beautiful granddaughter, Esme, died just one month before her 14th birthday. When she died a light went out in our family which will never return. Esme had been suffering from a very rare and aggressive cancer for which there is no specific treatment. The cancer, CIC-DUX4 sarcoma, primarily affects children and young adults, with extremely poor survival rates. Having received this devastating news the family set about researching the condition and scoured the planet for anything that might give her more time until a treatment could be developed, sadly for Esme this was not to be.

Following Esme’s death the family set up “The Esme Orike Foundation”, a charity whose objects are twofold, firstly to fund research into rare untreatable cancers affecting children and young adults and secondly, to provide financial support for the families of children and young adults suffering from those rare cancers.

Esme’s Foundation is currently funding a 3-year research programme headed by Ross Okimoto (MD) at the University of California San Fransisco, who specialises in finding treatments for the rarest of rare diseases. The research is focussing initially on Esme’s cancer, CIC-DUX4 sarcoma, with the aim of developing treatments so that no other family will have to suffer the same pain and sadness that we have. To this end the family have donated £100,000 for the first year of the research and the Foundation is looking to raise a further £200,000 for years two and three. Please help us achieve our goal.

Many thanks, Grampy (also known as Mike!)

I will be posting daily updates of my ride on the Esme Orike Foundation Facebook page, so if you want to see how it goes follow the link:

https://www.facebook.com/theesmeorikefoundation

Footnote: Also; as part of our fundraising activities, we are assembling a team of at least one hundred runners, or walkers, into 2025 Stroud Half Marathon. So, if you can run, walk, or crawl, 13.1-miles why not join Team Esme on the 26th of October? If you are interested in doing something truly amazing, and I know you are, email "info@esmeorikefoundation.org.uk" for further details.

Donation summary

Total
£18,049.63
+ £3,830.06 Gift Aid
Online
£18,029.63
Offline
£20.00

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