Bike trek triumph for deaf teenager Chris MacDonald

A Deaf teenager from York has cycled more than 1,300 miles to raise money for a local charity, reports Dan Bean, York Press, (22/08/11)

Chris MacDonald, 18, has been a member of Lollipop, a charity for deaf and hearing-impaired youngsters, for the last seven years.
He set out on August 1 from Aberdeen, with a final destination of York, via St Ives, Cornwall.
Chris, who has been profoundly deaf since the age of three, has raised just over £1,665 for the charity.
Chris said: “There are too many hills in Scotland – we had to push quite a bit.
“It was a bit difficult at first. We decided to go on a two-lane motorway, which wasn’t nice, and the weather made it very – very hard.”
Chris set off on the journey with school friend Lucas Wetherill, who sadly had to pull out of the challenge on doctor’s orders after contracting severe tonsillitis four days in. Lucas said: “I was very disappointed not to be able to carry on. I’m pleased that I still managed to raise money to donate towards such a fantastic charity, and I was pleased that Chris managed to do so well and arrive back safely.”
Chris said: “I had been doing a lot of training, so it was a bit quicker by myself, but a bit lonely.
“The best part of the journey was near Exeter on the A377, which was absolutely wonderful – round the mountain, but there are no hills, just nice curving roads and you can see for miles.”
The pair were hoping to raise £1,000, and said they were shocked by how much had come in.
“It’s just gone up like a rocket,” said Chris.
Andrea Gitsham, of Lollipop, said: “This is the largest amount that anyone has raised for Lollipop in a single sponsored challenge since we launched.
“It’s a fantastic achievement and we are very proud of Chris. He is an inspiration to us all. His sheer determination to complete the journey in the shortest time has amazed us all.”