May 25 2023
The brother of Edinburgh woman Alice Byrne, whose disappearance on New Year’s Day 2022 sparked a desperate search throughout the city and beyond, has said he hopes she would be proud of him as he embarks on a gruelling three-month charity challenge.
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Alice’s family believe she died by suicide after struggling with her mental health and alcohol addiction.
On Monday, almost 17 months to the day since he last saw his beloved sister and just months ahead of what would be her 30th birthday, Alice’s big brother Xani will embark on an 88-day tandem ride in her memory. The 34-year-old will set off from Portobello Promenade, just a stone’s throw from both where he grew up and where Alice was last seen, at 9am and will spend almost three months travelling along the coastline of mainland UK.
“We lost my sister to suicide 18 months ago and I wanted to do something,” he said. “She and I had talked about her jumping on the back of the tandem to build up her confidence but we never got round to it and now it’s too late. So in a way this is an incentive to do it in her memory. I can’t do a ride with her, so this is a ride for her..."
A grieving brother is taking on a gruelling cycling challenge to raise money and awareness for suicide bereavement charities.
Xani Byrne lost his sister Alice, 28, after she was reported missing near where they grew up in Portobello, Edinburgh, on New Year’s Day last year.
As he tries to come to terms with her death, he decided to do something to help others in a similar situation.
So he came up with Tandem Against Suicide – which will involve him cycling his tandem bike around the coastline of mainland Britain.
Xani Byrne lost his sister Alice last January, after she went missing near where they grew up in Portobello, Edinburgh.
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