Derry man who says cycling cured his eczema after father's death now cycling for cancer support

Jack first began cycling after his late father appeared to him in a dream and told him to pull himself together. He says that after he began cycling, his anxiety-induced eczema completely cleared up and he has now gone on to raise hundreds of pounds for charity.

Jack said: “I started cycling in 2019 after the loss of my father, Gerry Toland. My father was a drinker but he was a gentleman. He never left the house, he would just sit all day and have a wee drink and I was really close to him. He was a character who was known for his fast walking and I take after him now with the cycling!

"My dad had had a stroke about three months before he died so he lost all feeling down his left side. I was staying with my parents that Christmas and just after the New Year, I came home about 6pm and my dad was upstairs. Usually, we would have heard him getting up if he was going to come downstairs and we would have run to help him come down but we didn’t know this time that he was out of bed until he heard the thumps on the stairs. We believe he was getting up to go to the toilet and he slipped and fell down the stairs. The doctors told us that he would have survived the fall if he had have been drinking.

“After his death, I got really bad eczema covering 80% of my body. It went right round my body like fire because I was so stressed. One night, I had a dream about my dad where he appeared in the sky and he told me to get up and fight or lie down and die. I bought a cheap bike and ended up cycling to Cork in 2020 in 32 hours for Foyle Search and Rescue. In 2021, I cycled Derry to Malin Head and then the whole way to Cork for St Vincent De Paul, Ireland. In 2022, I cycled Derry to Cork over three days during the summer. In June, I cycled 480 miles for Autism NI in five days. My eczema has cleared up now because the cycling just clears my head so much and takes away all the stress."

Jack does all his cycling on a mountain bike and sometimes has a friend for company. He says his cycles haven’t been without challenges, from bikes breaking to bad weather but it’s other people’s opinions that get to him most.

"A few people have been saying that I’m only doing this for attention. It does get to me and it makes me angry that they’re judging me but I can’t give up. I never ever cancel my events because I love it so much and it’s always for such great causes. I have met so many great people so far, too, I could go anywhere in Ireland today and not be short of a garden to camp in!

"For this challenge, I had first intended to do 100 miles each day and I started off strong on the first day. I was pushing hard on day two but then I broke my bike. I got it fixed thankfully but I’m going to try do another hundred around Malin Head now and then I’ll keep going and we’ll see what happens.”

Although Jack only started cycling three years ago, he has no intentions of stopping. He wants everyone to know the benefits of getting active.

“I recommend anyone who suffers with their mental health or even with a skin condition to get on a bike and give it a go. They won’t be disappointed!”

To support Jack’s fundraisier, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jack1694438035475