On Saturday 30th October, Me, Bea & Stan, and my mum and dad are taking part in Pedal in Preston Park (http://www.pedalinprestonpark.co.uk), a sponsored cycling event to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. The idea is to get enough people to cycle from Land's End to John O'Groat's and back again in a day, without ever leaving Preston Park cycle track.

 

One of my best friends, Bryony Evans, lost her sister Rachel to MND in November 2009. She left behind two children, Hamish and Robin, who are the same ages as Beatrice and Stanley.  I remember telling my brother, a doctor, about her diagnosis and he said "You're better off with cancer".

 

I know that the help received from the MNDA really helped Rachel and her family during her illness and we'd all like to contribute to helping other people struck by this terrible disease.

 

I'm staggered my mum has agreed to participate in a sponsored event, and dad said he only would if he didn't have to collect signatures, so here is a super easy way to sponsor us.

 

I haven't cycled around Preston Park cycle track since I was a child, and I fell off on the banked side as I was going so slowly, so I'm hoping to manage to get all the way around a few times and stay upright.

 

We'll let you know how we get on. And thanks for any contributions that you make.

 

 

Love Anna, Bea, Stan, Jill and Bill

 

 

The Pedal in Preston Park event has been organised by Alistair Milne, who is fundraising for the Motor Neurone Disease Association following the loss of his wife Rachel and mum to son Hamish (10) and daughter Robin (8) last year from Motor Neurone Disease.

 

Alistair writes: In November 2009 my wife Rachel died of Motor Neurone Disease (MND), she was 44. She had been diagnosed with MND two years previously.

 

Watching a loved one succumb to this disease is an awful experience. Knowing that there is no cure for MND, or even any way of slowing its progression, makes that experience even worse. As a family we wanted to do something positive that will help the MND Association to care for families with MND while working to find treatments and a cure.