Stirling firefighter hits the pedals for latest challenge in year of epic fundraising tests

For most people, an 85km bike route through the picturesque countryside of Perthshire would be the task of a lifetime.

But for Stirling firefighter Calum Easton, it’s just the latest step in a gruelling 2024 where he is attempting an exhausting challenge every month to support a pair of charities close to his heart.

The 33-year-old is set to clip on his helmet for the Etape Caledonia sportive event — a cycle which will see him negotiate rolling hills and forest-lined roads on a route around the Pitlochry area.

The ride — which also includes an ascent of Schiehallion — takes place on May 12 and will be the fifth fundraiser completed by Calum in his year-long effort.

He has already completed a daily 5k every day in January, rowing the length of the River Tay on a rowing machine, swum 24k and completed an Olympic triathlon for his April effort.

On the eve of putting foot to pedal, Calum said: “There were always lots of different events I wanted to attempt but didn’t have the motivation — but now the causes have provided that.

“I wanted it to be quite daunting because I wanted to do something I’d be proud of and make it something that people would want to support.

“It’s been pretty difficult at the start of the year; doing a 5k every day in one of the wettest, coldest months of the year has been tough — I can do the distance, but it’s getting out and getting it done even after very busy days at work.

“I’m finished with the rowing now and that is one of the last of the month-long events, so it is just the one or two day events which are less daunting although they’re not easy — I’ve never cycled as far as the Etape for example.”

Among the challenges queued up for after the Etape, he will take on the Tough Mudder, Three Peaks Challenge, cycling 400km in November before finishing the year with ‘The Twelve 10ks of Christmas’.

He is raising money for the Matt Smith Foundation as part of the Brain Tumour Charity, alongside babyloss charity SiMBA.

Calum continued: “The Matt Smith Foundation was set by my good friend Hayley Smith after she lost her husband to a tumour in 2021 – she has raised almost £80,000 for them and I just wanted to do my bit.

“I’m also supporting the SiMBA memory box appeal because my sister and brother-in-law have lost two babies in recent years and the charity supported them through that. They offer memory boxes to labour wards, allow parents to create memories of their baby through handprints and footprints as well as lockets of hair.

“I’m happy to say that they now have a four-year-old niece and six-week-old nephew.

“This isn’t just about raising money, but also about raising awareness of both charities as well as proving to myself that I can do it.”

The closed-road Etape offers three distances — 40km, 55km and 85km — and will see as many as 5,000 riders navigate the ups and downs of the idyllic route.

● Calum’s fundraising page is also available to be supported at gofundme.com/f/callenge2024/