Alfie with Ian Crowe (NIAA) and Dr Burnett

Well done to Alfie Lewis (Year 8), who recently completed a cycle round the 7.4 mile Ulster Grand Prix circuit to raise funds for the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance.  In a special assembly on Tuesday 20 September, Alfie presented a cheque for £2850 to Mr Ian Crowe of the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance service.

Addressing the school, Mr Crowe announced that it is hoped that the NIAA will be operational and helping to save lives by the end of this year.  He invited all the pupils to follow in Alfie’s footsteps and continue to support the charity.

Read on to find out more about Alfie’s charity ride, and the story of how he became involved in NIAA fundraising in the first place.

The fourth of  July 2015 was a day that broke a 10 year old boy’s heart, as the news was announced of the death of Newtonards-born Dr John Hinds. Dr John or ‘the flying doctor’ as he was affectionately known was well-known in road-racing circles and always attended the racing circuits, helping to save many riders’ lives on his days off from his full-time work as an anaesthetist at Craigavon Area Hospital. Alfie had met Dr John a few years earlier and had stood in awe at this modest, unassuming, pony-tailed man in his racing leathers and his bright orange helmet, laden with all his medical bags around his waist. Dr John had spoken with the wide eyed youngster and explained his job and his equipment and even gave him one of his precious signed knee sliders to keep. This treasure, now framed, hangs proudly in Alfie’s home.

Dr John, who tragically died after a racing incident, was a committed campaigner for an air ambulance service to Northern Ireland. Dr John had many meetings with medical chiefs and politicians to drive his message home, and with his own motto ‘Always be the best you can be’, Dr John had inspired Alfie to be just that.

Alfie, who unexpectedly received a Dr John replica motorcycle helmet from Santa, had decided that he was going to do something in his hero’s memory. Sitting down and thinking about what he could do, he set about making his own plan to do a cycle ride around the Ulster Grand Prix circuit with a distance of just over 7.4 miles consisting of some big long hill climbs. Young Alfie, now 11 years old, requested permission from the organisers of the UGP to be allowed to cycle and raise funds during race-week, and the idea gathered pace as fast as Dr John rode his motor cycle. After Scottish businessman Ian Garden of Rig Deluge, heard of this plan he kindly provided Alfie with a new bike to help with the task ahead of him. Mr Garden had in fact seen the work of Dr John and his medical team when one of his own Rig-Deluge Road Racing Team was injured during an incident two years earlier on the same circuit.

Alfie went ahead and set up his own fund raising page, setting himself a target of £1000 and the donations started to come in slowly at first but enough to give the young lad the motivation to train for his planned event. As race week approached, the donations gathered pace. Prior to his ride, Alfie’s family took him for a drive around the course in the car , showing the extent of the first hill he would encounter, a half mile climb from Leathemstown to Deers Leap then going round the back end of the course and even longer but a more gradual hill. His mother Andrea concerned that it was maybe too much for the youngster’s little legs was reassured by her son as he said, ‘Don’t worry Mummy, I’ve got Dr John with me to help me round’.

On the day of the ride itself, lots of friends and family from around the race paddock turned up to cheer Alfie on. Although it was race week, the roads weren’t closed as it was a non-race day and the traffic was fast and heavy. Alfie was accompanied by Danny Horne, who is a team mechanic with RC Express racing team.

Alfie crosses the finish line

As they got ready to set off Alfie proudly put on his Dr John Helmet and headed down the road from the start line to what is known as The Flying Kilo and onto Leathemstown before reaching the bottom of the steep climb towards Deer’s Leap. Danny Horne Followed Alfie and let him carry on his own cycle, only taking the lead to make sure that any junction crossings were safe on the extremely busy roads. Alfie was totally unfazed throughout the climb and there was no sign of fatigue, thanks to the training his older brother Dylan, had been doing with him by putting him through his paces on a cycle machine.

Alfie enjoyed the climb and then tucked in to free wheel downhill before hitting the back roads after Cochranstown and back into a long and steady climb over the next few miles. As the pair reached the Lindsay Hairpin the homeward last leg was flat and Danny Horne came level with the enthusiastic youngster and checked he was okay before the pair put their heads down and made the long dash to the finish line with Danny peeling off and the 11 year old Alfie crossing the finish line with his hands off the bars and raised above his head.