Bannockburn cyclist prepares for gruelling trek in memory of tragic nephew

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The countdown is very much on for a Bannockburn man set to take on a gruelling cycle in memory of his nephew’s passing more than 40 years ago.Ed Delaney will be in the saddle for a mammoth 85-mile journey across the winding roads of Highland Perthshire in the Etape Caledonia race on Sunday, all to raise money for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.The Etape Caledonia allows cyclists to take part across various routes of 40 miles, 55 miles and the longest effort set to be completed by Ed, with the aim to push even the most experienced cyclists to their limits.The punishing pedal is to pay tribute to nephew Lorne, who died on November 22, 1982 after a six-month fight with serious heart problems.Lorne was born on May 14 that year and after initially being presumed as a healthy baby, he quickly deteriorated and was left unable to take in food and experts at the then-Yorkhill Hospital fitted him with a pacemaker.Unfortunately, after an initial improvement, Lorne’s body rejected the pacemaker - with the advice given to re-site the implant elsewhere through a further operation, a few hours after which Lorne tragically passed away.Ed has been keen to take on a special effort to pay tribute to his nephew and on what would have been his 40th birthday last year, it was decided he would take on the Etape for Lorne to raise money for the doctors working at the hospital where he was treated.The 55-year-old, originally from Dunipace, told the Observer: “I thought about doing something as long as ten years ago and I mentioned it to the other nieces and nephews; the timing just felt right to do it now and it all coincided with what have been his 40th birthday.“It felt like the right thing to be doing to get us all us talking about