Story
In June 2019 I am taking part in Mountain Mayhem https://www.mountain-mayhem.com which is the longest running 24 hour mountain bike endurance event in the world. This year the event is being held at Marston Lodge in Northamptonshire with the route full of single track areas, woodland and of course hard climbs!
This year I am setting myself an additional challenge to ride 100 miles in the 24 hours! I am doing this to fundraise for Invest in M.E Research and to raise awareness of the condition M.E because a friends son suffers with this awful illness.
This is their story.....Our 16 year old son Alex has had severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E) for 5 years, since he was just 11 years old. M.E is a multi systemic, neurological, autoimmune condition and the impact on our son has been devastating. Our once happy, sociable and very active son now suffers with a multitude of symptoms including unrelenting and debilitating physical & mental fatigue, severe cognitive impairment, insomnia & sleep reversal, pain and orthostatic intolerance. He is bed bound at least 75% of the time and reliant on mobility equipment including a stair lift and powered wheelchair to move around safely. Alex has been too ill for any education since 2014 (all of his secondary school years) and has lost all his friends. Although we hope he won’t always be this ill, we have no idea what the future holds for him.