In early 2020 my world was turned upside down, my Mum was struck down by a mysterious illness, due to the country being in the midst of the first Covid lock down diagnosis proved very difficult. Months passed and her health deteriorated rapidly, finally in July we got the terrible news that she had MND (Motor Neurone Disease) and although she could receive drugs to ease her pain and hopefully slow the rate of decline, ultimately there is no cure for MND. My Mum passed away on the 23rd of October 2020 after a terrible year. She had enjoyed good health for all her life apart from the last year, MND takes no prisoner's.

After the initial grief I decided that one day I would do something to help the MND association and hopefully in some small way help them find a cure for this horrible disease.

So the challenge :

I love cycling and lots of my spare time is spent trying be the best I can be at it so a few miles around Shropshire on a sunny day isn't going to cut the mustard! It needs to be more, when reading a magazine in 2021 I came across an article about PBP (Paris - Brest - Paris) the oldest bicycle race in the world which was once contested by the worlds best professional cyclists is now held once every 4 years for amateurs. I could do this I thought!

So what's involved? Well its a 1200km ride from Paris to Brest (West coast of France) and back to Paris. So OK its a long way but also from minute one the clock is ticking 90 hours is the maximum time allowed to complete and the time keeps ticking when you eat / drink and sleep. So either ride fast and rest more or take it steady but limit sleep stops. Also its totally self sufficient no cosy hotel beds ! No mechanical support. Maybe an hours sleep in a field or village hall control point 😄.

Believe it or not lots of people want to ride 1200km on a bike in northern France. To qualify you need to complete a SR (Super Randonneur) in 2023 and also pre qualification is available to those who complete long distances in 2022.

So here's the challenge: I will Ride a complete a Super Randonneur in 2022 This is a series of Audax cycling events consisting of 200km 300km 400km and 600km rides all against the clock. Completing this will entitle me to early registration for PBP 2023. Then to complete the entry process I will need to complete another Super Randonneur in 2023 before the big one 1200km PBP ride in August 2023.

So Events totalling 4200 km's and with countless training kilometres to get into shape. All for MND and in honour of my MUM.

It would be great if you can spare a few pounds to help spur me on and fight this terrible disease.

Thanks for reading.

Follow my training on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/athletes/markhammond

I will also keep updating this blog with ride reports and fundraising updates etc.

https://theroadtopbp2023.blogspot.com/