When Danny Cryer bought a bike during his lunch hour, little did he know that a year later he’d be taking on a big challenge for Twins Trust.

Danny is dad to twins Frederick and Albert, two. Much to his wife’s surprise, he bought a bike one lunchtime and the rest is history.

He’s now a great fan of commuting on two wheels and reaping the benefits of a healthier journey to work too.

The dad-of-two is taking on the RideLondon-Essex route to raise money for Twins Trust and to help support other families with multiples.

Speaking about his journey to parenthood, Danny said: “My wife is a twin, she has a twin brother. Finding out we were expecting twins wasn’t too much of a surprise because we knew there was a higher chance of it. We were surprised they were identical.”

Danny explained that following the boys’ birth in May 2022, mum Charlotte was anaemic and unwell. Charlotte, Frederick and Albert spent 11 days in hospital as Frederick needed support in the neonatal intensive care unit after experiencing breathing difficulties.

Danny said: “Although we had a bit of a tough time, we were quite lucky, I think.”

He found out about Twins Trust after Charlotte’s mum mentioned that TAMBA, as Twins Trust was previously known, had been useful for her when Charlotte and her brother were babies.

Danny said: “We were looking online for twin specific information and advice on things like sleeping. The general advice from NHS online often doesn’t extend to multiples. Charlotte said her mum had benefitted from TAMBA so that’s how we discovered Twins Trust.

“We found Twins Trust to be one of the best sources of information for multiples’ specific information. Some things we were told by other health professionals were not suitable for multiples so Twins Trust really helped.”

Danny is busy training for the big day in May. He explained how his new-found love for cycling came about.

“I was looking to get more active myself in general so I randomly bought a bike one lunchtime, much to Charlotte’s alarm. I started commuting, cycling to and from work. It was good for my general fitness and I was enjoying it. Now it’s a year later, I am on bike number three and I have joined a cycling club.

“Charlotte then mentioned about RideLondon-Essex for Twins Trust and sent me a link. Then I signed up but I hadn’t researched how hard it might be to ride 100 miles.”

Danny fits his training around work, with early morning or after-work rides when he takes the longer route home. Weekend rides give him an extra boost too as he increases his stamina.

Gearing up for the finish line 

He added: “Being able to get out on the bike so much is making it easier for me to be more useful at home as I’ve got more energy.”

Gearing up for the big day, Danny said: “Charlotte and the boys will be at the finish line, which will be nice. I think I will be feeling a bit nervous because of the number of people I will be cycling with. I’m less nervous about the distance.”

Data engineer Danny will see his fundraising matched, up to £1,000, thanks to Oakland, his employer.

Click on Danny's fundraising page to sponsor him.