Nathan Massey has raised over £3,000 for the Prince of Wales Hospice, just a week after his aunt was treated there before passing away.
The Castleford Tigers forward completed an eight-hour bike ride, all while staying on his driveway, on his watt bike.
In that time he cycled 255km, the equivalent of a commute from Castleford to Cambridge.
Donations have poured in ever since, with Castleford’s longest-serving player revealing the hospice had looked after his aunt before she died.
“My auntie was admitted to the hospice before she passed away, so it was a fitting time to do the cycle,” he said.
“I went to say my goodbyes to her on the Wednesday and I did the cycle the week after on the Thursday, so I felt like the timing was right. She had been quite poorly for a while, but I always had an idea that I wanted to do something for the hospice and the great work they do.
“It was fantastic. I live on a great estate; people were coming to the end of the drive and giving donations and I got about £300 in cash. People were coming to give me a wave; a lot of the Cas boys live local to Cas and were coming around for a chat, which was nice.
“As I was finishing, Jy Hitchcox, Pete Mata’utia and Dan Smith came to watch me come home.”
Massey hopes to raise more money for the charity in the future, though he’s unsure what his next challenge will be.
“Alex Foster had done a great fundraiser, but he was lucky that he had some hair to shave off, but I don’t have that luxury!
“I had to do something fitness based and I thought six hours was a bit shy. I thought an eight-hour session was better. I probably regretted it when I got to six hours.
“I don’t know what’s next, but I can say I won’t be getting on a watt bike soon!”
The Prince of Wales Hospice offers palliative care for patients with life-limiting illnesses and it is Castleford’s charity partner.
Anyone who would like to donate to Nathan’s fundraiser can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/nathan-massey
