A Wandsworth Dad is taking on an extreme bike challenge this weekend, to raise money for Auditory UK, a hearing charity that has helped his daughter improve her hearing.

Jonathan Lerner’s four-year-old daughter, Islay, was born with hearing difficulties, and he and wife Victoria were originally worried that it would impact her opportunities in life.

However, thanks to the support of Auditory UK, she will be starting school in September with the same opportunities as her twin brother Archie and other hearing peers.

To show his appreciation and give other families with young deaf children the chance to benefit from the programme, Jonathan and two work colleagues are tackling the French Alps this weekend, in a mammoth cycle challenge.

The route, which is a famous mountain section of the Tour de France cycle race, is roughly 135Km, with 4,800M of vertical climbing.

Jonathan will be travelling to France on Friday (July 31), and is aiming to complete the notorious cycle route in around eight hours.

He said:

“We are fortunate to be able to afford to pay for the therapy, but all deaf children should achieve what typical hearing children achieve. This should not be limited to wealthy parents who can afford services. By helping teach deaf kids to listen better and speak, AVUK creates much better outcomes for them.”

“In a masked COVID world where lip-reading has suddenly become very difficult, and access to council-run speech services even less possible than pre-COVID, the need for the services that charities like AVUK offer has never been greater.”

You can find more about Islay and Jonathan’s challenge here.