An 86-year-old cyclist tackled a marathon course across the Yorkshire Dales to raise £525 for the Telegraph & Argus Bradford Crocus Cancer Appeal.

Grandad Thomas Woods, of East Bowling, Bradford, faced 30mph winds and a puncture as he pedalled 26 miles in support of our £1 million fundraising campaign to help scientists pioneer new cancer treatments here in Bradford.

He was the oldest person to sign up for Yorkshire Cancer Research’s (YCR) new flagship event, The Dales Rider, which offered cyclists the chance to tackle either a 26-mile or 65-mile route.

The octogenarian, who raised a total of £525.30 through sponsorship and selling T&A Bradford Crocus Cancer Appeal badges, said: “It was tough! Not only because of the hills, but also because of the 30mph plus winds.

“Then, to cap it all, I had a puncture a mile and a half from the finish so had walk in – but it was all worthwhile!”

Mr Woods, who started cycling in 1998 after having an operation on a knee injury sustained while training for the 1996 London Marathon, decided to support the T&A appeal after losing members of his family to cancer.

Through our campaign, we want to buy researchers at Bradford University’s Institute of Cancer Therapeutics a new mass spectrometer, which will allow them to study the role of proteins in cancer ten times faster than ever before.

This could hold the key to helping them develop more targeted, less toxic medicines, which could stop patients having their bodies ravaged by chemotherapy.

Mr Woods thanked friends and neighbours who sponsored him – with two online donations coming from the USA.

And he boosted his sponsorship total by £50 through selling the T&A Bradford Crocus Appeal pin badges. The badges, which cost £1, are available at the T&A offices on Hall Ings.