A bike ride in memory of Laurie

Even today, Laurie Engel is still very much alive in the minds of Harry and Mark, who cycled for miles to raise money in his memory.

Harry Saville, 20, and Mark Williams, 22, cycled from Caen, Northern France, to Tarifa, the Southern tip of Spain, to raise money for a cancer charity after their childhood friend, Laurie, died from cancer at a very young age.

“Laurie was a very funny guy. I knew him from about the age of six. We played football together. We did lots of activities together at primary schoo

Harry after crossing the Pyrenees.

l.” Harry remembers.

Laurie, was diagnosed with a combative and rare type of cancer and died in September 2005, aged only 13.

Mark said that it was shocking news when he found out that his friend was ill: “Despite intensive treatment Laurie died a few months after he was diagnosed. It was a very aggressive type of cancer and unfortunately they found out too late to do anything about it.”

A few years later, in the summer of 2011, Harry, who was 16 at the time and Mark, who was 18, decided to go on a cycling adventure, of around 2000km, from France to Spain. They both thought it would be a great idea to do it in aid of their friend Laurie, by raising money for the Laurie Engel Fund; a cancer charity created by Laurie’s father, journalist Matthew Engel.
The funds of the charity go to the Teenage Cancer Trust, who build specialist teenager cancer units in hospitals around the UK.

“I have always been an adventurous kind of person and I love cycling as well.” Harry mentioned.
“Travelling on my own was something I really wanted to do and my parents have always been very willing for me to do things, which I am highly motivated to do.” he added with a smile.

Map of the journey route

Mark also said: “We both felt like we wanted to do an adventure together. We came up with the idea of a bike ride and we thought it would be better to do it for a good cause.”

Their journey lasted for 23 days and as Harry described “It was an amazing experience! We faced very difficult conditions with extreme heat and poor navigation skills. We often camped without a tent or slept in abandoned buildings, which both added to the adventure.”

“There was some amazing scenery, we met some cool people, who were very inspirational. Also just being in the middle of nowhere, on your own and travelling and witnessing everything is incredible!” the young cyclists said.

Laurie Engel aged 3

People, not only around Hereford, but all around the UK, suggested that they would give Harry and Mark money if they managed to complete their journey.
 Their target was to raise £2000, but actually the managed to surpass their goal and raised about £3500.

“We felt very loved and very motivated to complete the journey.” both said with pride.

Today, four years later, the two boys are looking forward to going on a new adventure around the world.
“We would love to do something like that again. No matter how hard it was at times, we are both really happy of what we achieved and we would do it again in a heartbeat.”

If you need more information about the Laurie Engel Fund or if you want to get involved with children charities please visit http://www.laurieengelfund.org.