Little Daniel inspires epic cycle for diabetes charity

CYCLISTS Danny McStravick from Clonoe and his son-in-law Sammy Lupari completed two laps of Lough Neagh, raising a tremendous £5,806 in aid of Diabetes UK-NI.

The epic cycle was inspired by Danny’s seven-year-old grandson Daniel (Sammy’s son), who was diagnosed with the condition last year. Danny is a veteran of charity cycles and, although in the 60-plus club, he maintains a great level of fitness.

He explained, “It was a very early start as we left Ballyronan marina at 4.40am. We did one lap of the lough clockwise and the other anti-lockwise, a total distance of 162 miles and finished at Ballyronan at 4pm.

“I do a charity event every year and originally we had hoped to cycle from Mizen to Malin in three days. In December 2021, Daniel was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and he is currently on four injections per day. We didn’t feel it would be fair to him for us to be away for four days in different surroundings with all that is going on.

On Daniel’s recommendation we undertook the Laps of the Lough challenge to raise money for Diabetes UK and, in particular, Northern Ireland.”

Danny thanked all those who donated to the fundrasier and helped make it happen.

He added, “We are so grateful for all the support from our cyling club members from Creggan Wheelers and other local cyclists who joined us throughout the day. We were totally blown away with people’s generosity. We also wish to thank all local businesses who supported us with donations and goods and services.

“The highlight of the cycle was when Daniel joined us and completed the last two miles. I would like to also thank our families. They once again got behind us and supported us throughout and did whatever they could to help us.

“Daniel has been brilliant since he was diagnosed with Type 1. He has had to make many changes but never complains. He has been blown away with the support for his chosen charity and we thank everyone for making this possible.”