Updated on Sep 11th 2011 at 6:46 PM from the JustGiving API

All done! 320 miles in total. Bring on the next challenge!

Updated on Sep 8th 2011 at 5:10 PM from the JustGiving API

Day one complete! About 80 miles covered today so only 220 to go!

Hi there,

I am part of a team undertaking a cycling challenge that will take us from East Peckham, Kent to Newquay, Cornwall. The trip will be approximately 300 miles which we plan to complete between 8^th-11^th September 2011. I will be updating this site regularly so please feel free to return to see how the training is going.

Please read on to understand why Alzheimer’s Society is our chosen charity for this event.

Some of the team have seen firsthand how Alzheimer’s can affect a person and their family. Their experience has also shown the impact on other sufferers’ families and the amazing job that the carers undertake.

A family member of an Alzheimers sufferer on a support forum refers to people with the disease as ‘the invisibles’. Alzheimer’s is a terminal illness, as is Cancer, although instead of being surrounded by people they love and having the chance to say their goodbyes and spend precious time with their family before the disease fully takes hold, Alzheimer’s sufferers tend to have a very different experience.

Below are some of the scary facts regarding Alzheimer’s:-

What is dementia?

Dementia describes different brain disorders that trigger a loss of brain function. These conditions are all usually progressive and eventually severe.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia, affecting 62 per cent of those diagnosed.

Other types of dementia include; vascular dementia affecting 17 per cent of those diagnosed and mixed dementia affecting 10 per cent of those diagnosed.

Symptoms of dementia include memory loss, confusion and problems with speech and understanding. Dementia is a terminal condition.

Who is affected?

There are 750,000 people with dementia in the UK. By 2021 there will be over 940,000 people living with dementia.  This will soar to 1.7 million by 2050.

One in three people over 65 will die with dementia

More than 60 per cent of all care home residents, aged over 65, have a form of dementia.

There are over 16,000 people under 65 with dementia in the UK.

Dementia affects 11,000 people from black and minority ethnic groups in the UK.

How much does it cost?

By 2018 dementia will cost the UK £27 billion per annum.

Unpaid carers supporting someone with dementia save the economy £6 billion a year.

Dementia is one of the main causes of disability later in life, ahead of cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke. As a country we spend much less on dementia than on these other conditions.

How does the UK compare to other countries?

More than 24 million people have dementia today with the numbers affected doubling every 20 years to more than 80 million by 2040.

Another 4.6 million people will develop dementia around the world this year.

What about treatments and research?

There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease or any other type of dementia. Delaying the onset of dementia by five years would halve the number of deaths from the condition, saving 30,000 lives a year.

Dementia research is desperately under-funded. The government invests eight times less in dementia research than cancer research.

In 2007-08 cancer research received £248.2 million, while dementia research received just £32.34 million.

Alzheimer's Society invests over £6 million in dementia research to improve care for people today and find a cure for tomorrow.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thanks for taking the time to read this JustGiving site. Please dig deep and donate now.

Steve Chivers (part of the Kent to Cornwall Cycling Adventure team)

 

Training blog

2^nd May – Training is going well having completed the Brighton marathon early April and with the weather the way it’s been recently I’ve got in plenty of cycling to work. My longest ride to date has been just over 60 miles but the thought of doing more than that for 4 days on the trot is a bit daunting! We have the Castle 100 (a 100 mile bike ride; the name’s kind of a give-away really!) coming up on the 15^th May which I know quite a few of us have entered. This will be a good test of fitness and give everyone more of an idea what we’ve let ourselves in for! Thanks to my employer AXA PPP healthcare for sponsoring me £300 for the trip; what a great start!

 

30^th May – We completed the Castle 100 on the 15^th which was a pretty tough challenge. It’s made us realise how important it is we get in enough training before the main cycle challenge and also how important it will be to replenish our energy before setting off again! I was coming down with a cold before the Castle 100 and since the ride I haven’t done any exercise (golf doesn’t count!) whilst I’ve been getting over it. I’ll attempt to get back on the bike and hit the gym in the week so I’m hoping I’ll be to fitness soon; I certainly hope so as I know the others have been cracking on with their training!

 

3^rd July – I completed a 70 mile bike ride yesterday from East Peckham to Hampshire which covered quite a lot of our planned Day 1 of the main ride. Apart from a few miles of flat around Crawley most of the ride was undulating and pretty tough going. Apparently it gets a lot hillier towards Cornwall! I just hope the others are putting in the training. Since my time off after the Castle 100 I’m back to doing a lot of cycling and up the gym. In the past 2 weeks I’ve cycled slightly further than the distance we’ll be covering over the 4 days plus put in about 6 gym sessions. We should be planning the actual route in more detail next week as well as sorting out accommodation etc. I’d better crack on with the fundraising!

 

17^th July – I’m on the verge of breaking the 1500 mile barrier since I started training for the ride. I certainly feel better for it but it is taking its toll on the bike; I’ve recently had to change the tyres and brake pads and have to clean out the chain quite regularly.  

 

7^th August – Up until last Thursday I had been pretty lucky with the weather recently and managing to avoid any rain we’ve had. Thursday however it absolutely chucked it down on the way to work, made worse since it followed a dry spell, making all the roads extra greasy. I got to a roundabout in Tonbridge and there was absolutely no grip on a section of it. As soon as I leant over slightly on the bike the wheels slipped under me and I went sliding across the road into the curb. Luckily the road was smooth which saved my bike and me and my clothes from any major damage. It hasn’t exactly helped my back and neck which haven’t been right for a while now! I’ve got the incident on camera so need to try and get it uploaded in the Internet! My fitness has improved and the journey to work and back doesn’t seem to take as much out of me as it first did. I’m even going up one of the steep hills on the way in 6^th gear as opposed 1^st! Fundraising is going well but need to start spreading the word a bit more!