Thanks for taking the time to visit my ‘#Ridefor24’ page.

From 5pm Friday May 29^th – Saturday May 30^th 2020, I will be cycling for 24 hours straight LIVE from my living room (the clock will be paused for toilet breaks💩). I am doing this because I want more people to feel comfortable to talk when they are suffering and to raise awareness & donations for CALM. 

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is leading a movement against suicide, encouraging people to speak up and reach out. Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK and the cause of 18 deaths every day.

About me

After floating in and out of children’s homes and the care system for most of my childhood I finally got lucky and found a forever home with my amazing foster parents, Mum and Dad. Unfortunately my big sister Naomi was not so lucky and unfortunately found herself in a dark place. Sadly, at 17 she took her own life. 

A few years went by, and heartache struck again. I received a call, my best friend Jason, who unbeknown to his friends and family had been suffering from mental health issues, had taken his own life. I couldn't understand. Outgoing, cheeky, charasmatic and loved by everyone - he seemed perfectly fine. 

Both times I had no idea that the people closest to me were suffering. If only I could have helped, if only they'd said something? Where does it start? It starts with feeling ok to talk when we are unhappy.

Next it was my turn. After returning from Afghanistan in one piece I had an accident at home and broke my femur, I had to learn to walk again. Throughout my childhood, my one escape was athletics, so to have that taken away from me, had a devastating impact on my life. The dark days came and went. I knew I had to speak up, I didn't want to be a Naomi or Jason. Thankfully, I confided in the people around me and got through one of the most difficult times in my life.

We are living in a time, where face-to-face contact with friends and loved ones has been restricted due to Covid-19. The stresses of normal life are exaggerated with the fear of losing jobs, as well as financial, relationship and health worries. It is now more important than ever to speak up and reach out. If my journey has taught me one lesson - it's that life is unpredictable, we need to treasure and support the people around us.

I believe that physical exercise helps us to become mentally stronger. If you can push through when the going gets tough, you can push through anything. 

I will be pushing through the suffering for a full 24 hours!

Let's get talking!

You can chat with CALM on 0800 58 58 58 or Webchat https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/webchat/

I'd love you to like, follow & share my journey on instagram @triathlonbenny where I will be blogging my training and progress.

Thank you for your donations :)