City fan Martin Bane and friends made the trip to Molineux via bike for Norwich’s fixture against Wolves, in aid of mental health charity Mind.
Martin and his partner Caitlín had been deeply affected by the loss of each of their fathers. Martin said: “I lost my dad after he took his own life and my partner’s dad, unfortunately, took his own life too at the back end of last year.”
The pair were both keen to do something in their memory, whilst raising awareness and money for a cause to help others who were also facing a similar struggle. Whilst Martin’s father was a life-long canary fan and Caitlín’s had supported Wolves, they shared a love of cycling, following various events and taking part in tours themselves.
Along with a group of friends and family, Martin and Caitlín made the 200-mile trip by bike from 8am on Friday, May 13 and arrived at the stadium in time for kick-off on the Sunday.
Talking about the journey itself, Martin said: “We had a puncture about 40 minutes into the journey, just outside of Wymondham and we thought ‘oh great, this is how it’s going to be!’
“We then didn’t have any issues until the final mile, where we had crashes, more punctures and a fall, after a duck walked out in front of us.”
The group then saw City take a point from Wolves and to round off the weekend, were driven home via club coach for all of their efforts.
The total money raised for Mind by the group reached over £6,000 and you can still donate here.
Martin and Caitlín want to do all they can to spread the message about mental health, as Martin said: “Lots of things in life can happen and can go wrong and I think this is definitely the case being a football fan. Coming together as a group of people means you can achieve so much more.
“At the start of the year Caitlín didn’t even have a bike – we planned this without the minimum tool required for a cycle ride!
“We want to destigmatise both mental health issues and illness and get people talking when they feel like they’re not doing okay.”
The couple would like to extend their thanks to Aaron Hill, Shaun Gibbs, Ollie Lamb, Daniel Harvey, Jim Rijks, Alec Rijks, Jake Kenny and Steve Kenny for their involvement in the trip.
If you feel like you or someone you know is struggling, visit Mind’s website here now for help.