A father of three with no experience of long-distance cycling is travelling 4,300 kilometres on his bike from England to Beirut, in an attempt to raise £250,000 after a disastrous blast.

Eddie el Lamaa, from Rickmansworth, was “heartbroken” following a blast that devastated the city of Beirut in Lebanon on August 4.

Mr Lamaa, who was born in Lebanon before moving to England at the age of three, is currently passing Serbia in his journey against all odds to reach Lebanon by bike in around 50 days.

While he is cycling alone, he is being followed by his “team” of his father and brother as well as a close friend in an RV to provide any backup assistance needed.

Mr Lamaa has no experience in such an adventurous voyage and explained he did not even own a bike before setting off on his fundraising adventure.

He said: “The night I watched it on the TV with my wife, I said to her ‘look at these poor little kids’.

“My dad moved from Beirut to here when I was three years old at the time, and I said to her if he had not, that could have been me left in the streets.”

Watford Observer:

Eddie has passed through Europe in his journey

The incident has been declared one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts ever recorded and resulted in the deaths of 190 people, injuries of over 6,000 people and initially leaving 300,000 people homeless.

Even more than a month after the blast, searches were ongoing to find any survivors within the rubble of a building in the capital. But it was declared yesterday (September 5) that no signs of life were found.

When Mr Lamaa first proposed the idea of cycling from England to Lebanon, his wife “lost her mind” and made clear she was completely against the idea due to the current pandemic and the dangers he could encounter on the way.

As a result, he scrapped his plans - until his wife came to the realisation that Mr Lamaa had “never made a bad judgement” and she wanted to support his “selfless” act.

Preparations quickly came together, and he set off on his adventure within that week.

Despite the lack of physical training or experience in such a trip, Mr Lamaa has remained dedicated in cycling endless hours each day to reach his destination – with him not even stopping to catch a breath during his interview with the Observer.

Since starting the fundraiser, he has raised nearly £40,000 so far.

Watford Observer:

The journey itself has not necessarily been an easy one. Due to the lack of preparation and route planning in the last-minute voyage, Mr Lamaa found his journey taking much longer than anticipated as he travelled through steep and dangerous mountains.

It was there where he met Claus, a local who was astounded by the journey. He then helped Mr Lamaa plan out the rest of the route across Europe.

Mr Lamaa said: “I’m going to miss my sons’ first birthday which is on Monday that I’m gutted about. I missed my four-year-olds first day in his school. So, there is a few special occasions which I’m missing, and I’m upset about that.”

The journey has had other mishaps too due to potholes across different countries which ended in a few crashes including one where he dangerously banged the back of his head on the road.

He said: “If I wasn’t wearing a helmet, then that’s it. It really makes you think, especially as I've got three kids. I start questioning myself sometimes, thinking what if I die?”

Talking about his motivations, he said: “For a lot of Lebanese people, to watch that happen to your country – it strikes something inside you, and it is really upsetting.

“I was heartbroken, we go to Lebanon every year. I’m British, but fundamentally my morals and upbringing are Lebanese. To watch it blow up like that, especially after everything they’ve been going through, is heartbreaking.”

Watford Observer:

Eddie says he is more than half way through his journey now

He continued: “I was just in a fortunate position that I was able to take time away and be able to do something and hopefully raise some kind of awareness.

“I feel like when much is given, much is respected. If I can do something once in my life to help others and make me feel good, I can inspire others to do good stuff as well.”

The physical challenge of cycling long distances for so many hours a day has become exhausting for Mr Lamaa, but he believes his “strong mindset” is enough to keep him motivated and continuing.

He said: “I’m a finisher. If I start something, I have to finish it. But if you pay me £10 million to do it again – I would never!”

The journey is being logged with photographs and videos through Facebook and Instagram. To donate to the fundraiser, visit: https://justgiving.com/fundraising/rideforlebanon.