Thank you for visiting our fundraising page for our upcoming cycle from John O'Groats to Lands End (JOGLE) in May 2023.

We initially planned to get underway in May 2020 but Covid-19 put pay to that, and then our postponed ride was again cancelled in 2021 as the virus made a comeback. So here we are in 2023 with a larger team of riders, more determined than ever to complete the challenge

Meet the JOGLE 23 crew cycling for Parkinson's UK:

Henry Deakin, Tom Graham, James Fenwick, Scott Richardson Brown, Mark Whittaker, Mark Skipp, Tom Osbourne, Boudewijn, Charlie Ferrier.

Nine blokes. Some middle aged, some pretending not to be. With varying levels of fitness and ability, we leave John O'Groats on 6th May to arrive at Land's End 10 days and 1,000 miles later. No electric bikes allowed, just tired legs and raw rear ends. The standard time do this bike ride is 14 days, so we are pushing ourselves. 

Scotland in May against the wind. Why? The JOGLERS have committed to raising funds to help find a cure for Parkinson's Disease, as many of the team have family experience of this condition. Living with Parkinson's is not easy so neither is JOGLE.

You may be familiar with this terrible disease: 

• A debilitating, Progressive Neurological Disease with no current cure
• 1 in 37 people will be diagnosed with PD in their lifetime.
• Second Largest and fastest growing neurological condition
• 10 million people affected worldwide, growing to 20 million by 2033
• The UK Government and charity spend on medical research is £3bn, but only £50m (1.7%) is for Parkinson's. In the USA, total spend is $39.2bn with only $224m (5.7%) focused on Parkinson's.   

So more funds are needed to improve research and find a cure.

All the costs associated with the trip are being met by the JOGLE team, so all donations will go to projects like Parkinson's UK's Virtual Biotec. A unique and ambitious programme, it operates with the same agility and ambition of a commercial biotech but without the overheads and at a fraction of the cost. We like agility, ambition and low overheads. Let's help find a cure.

It's also Personal :

In 2007, Henry’s father David was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and as a jeweller for many years, the tremors made it impossible to continue working. He gallantly deals with everything the disease is throwing at him. It is very hard to watch him suffer every day. We have seen first-hand the good that comes from the Parkinson’s UK charity and the NHS.

There is good news based on the research undertaken and in 2015, David had a life-changing operation called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) to help control some motor symptoms. A surgeon placed thin metal wires in his brain (while he was awake) and these wires send electrical pulses to the brain to help control his shakes. We have no doubt, while it was not a cure, it changed his life and gave him better control of his tremors. He went from shaking uncontrollably and being unable to hold a knife and fork, or write with a pen, to being able to do basic day-to-day tasks. DBS is not a cure and does not stop Parkinson’s from progressing, but it has given David a much greater quality of life than we thought possible. We want DBS to be available to more people diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.

Tom’s father Alan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015, which increasingly affected his mobility and quality of life, robbing him of his independence. He later developed Parkinson's-related dementia, and sadly lost his battle in July 2021.

Mark Whittaker's father-in-law, Derek Perks, passed away due to several Parkinson's related conditions. Watching the rapid decline of proud and formerly active people was heart-breaking for their family.

Boudewijn Verhelst is member of the board of directors of a private foundation based in Belgium who share our goal to find a cure for Parkinson’s. Boudewijn met Henry and Mark on a previous fundraising bike ride from London to Bruges.

If you could make a donation small or large, personal or corporate, to the cause under the JOGLE 2023 banner please use this just giving page, any amount will be put to good use.

JOGLE 2020 was prevented by COVID and had raised nearly £20,000 for Parkinson's UK, and this amount is being rolled over into this year's challenge. We aim to raise much more this time round. Massive thanks to those who already donated under the JOGLE 20 banner, we will not let you down in 2023!