INTRODUCTION

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

The Challenge

I’m challenging myself to ride the length of Britain, from Land’s End in Cornwall to John O’Groats in Scotland, in only 9 days (!) in aid of Parkinson’s UK. 

Parkinson’s particularly affected my Dad, Barry, who died in 2018. He was a talented professional artist and this disease took away his ability to draw and paint in addition to significantly impacting his daily life. 

Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition that interferes with movement, speech and balance. It affects all aspects of daily life and gets worse over time. Currently there are treatments, but no cure.

With your support I’m aiming to raise £980 - that’s £1 for every mile that I cycle! This will help to support the valuable research work that Parkinson’s UK is doing to find a cure for this debilitating and disabling disease. It would be truly wonderful if one day a cure could be found so that other families don't have to see their loved ones affected by this disease.

Why Cycle?

My love of riding has grown over the last few years and I decided that I really wanted to take on a cycling challenge that I could ride in memory of my Dad. He loved all things to do with cycling including the Tour de France’s iconic climbs.

The cycle ride will take place over nine days covering a total distance of 980 miles - that's well over 100 miles a day. As if the distance isn’t enough of a challenge, it is apparently all uphill to Scotland (!). Not only that, but over the distance of the ride, there’s over 15km of vertical ascent – that’s almost twice the height of Mount Everest!

The scale of the challenge is not one to be undertaken lightly, but with the right training and the right attitude I am going to give it my best shot. Your support will help motivate me and keep those pedals turning through what I don't doubt will be some challenging days.

AND FINALLY!

Many, many thanks for reading my story. If you feel able to donate towards this cause, then I would be very grateful. I will keep you all posted on how things are going. Wish me luck, because I think I will need it!

Ride on!

Gareth

P.S. If you want to see how I am getting on, you can follow my progress via my Instagram Account. I’ll be posting regular updates, pictures from the ride, and even some video. 

Follow me at: 

www.instagram.com/garethrab2022