Doctor battles tough conditions on John O'Groats to Land's End charity ride
A medical consultant marked his retirement by completing a bike ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End in just over 114 hours, despite extreme weather conditions.
Dr Iain Farquhar, 60, of Bleasby, raised £11,250 for the Intensive Care Foundation.
Along the way he encountered strong winds, rain and the hottest July day ever recorded in the UK.
Dr Farquhar, who has worked at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, since 1993, spent 55 hours on the bike over the five-day challenge.
He completed the route from north to south, which is considered the more difficult option because of the prevailing wind direction.
The father-of-two said: “The weather was more difficult than I had anticipated with the head-wind making even flat sections hard work.
“While there were few moments of pleasure during the ride, what drove me on was the huge generosity of people who donated to raise money for the Intensive Care Foundation.
“I beat my fund-raising target by more than £1,000, which was completely unexpected.
“I have dedicated much of my career to intensive care medicine and seen some great advances over the years that have been brought about by the work of research teams such as those supported by the Intensive Care Foundation.
“I am especially pleased that the money raised by the ride will support research to further improve outcomes for future intensive care patients.”
Dr Stephen Brett, president of the Intensive Care Foundation, said: “Dr Iain Farquhar has, for many years, been an outstanding intensive care doctor and teacher with a reputation way beyond Nottingham.
“Alongside this, he has dedicated a great deal of time and effort on crazy ventures raising money for the Intensive Care Foundation.
“This reflects his total dedication to improving the prospects for intensive care patients.
“Only by conducting research can we really make the improvements in treatment and care that we wish.
“We can’t believe he is retiring — or that he has completed yet another mad scheme.
“The money Iain raised will be used to support the highest quality research in both the lab and in the intensive care unit.”
Dr Farquhar is still taking donations at his Just Giving page.
