A New Challenge

It's still not too late to donate so I am grateful for any further donations in support of my cycle ride or Paul's half marathon.

A very big THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me reach my £2,000 target

It’s Like Riding a Bike – You Never Forget

I am 48 years old and have just returned from cycling over 300 miles from to – an experience I hope that I will never forget.

Kitty is 81 years old. She has never ridden a bicycle. She lives with dementia and will never be able to retain the knowledge needed to learn to ride a bicycle. Some time from now she will forget who I am and will live her life in confusion and fear of the unknown.

So when I set off on my 4 day journey from   I was riding for the Alzheimer’s Society branch in North Shields, for present and future dementia sufferers (It Could Be You! – It really is a lottery) and their relatives and carers..... but mostly for Kitty.

In return I got a holiday of a lifetime, weary legs, a sore bottom, a very close view of a Calais gutter (complete with badly grazed shoulder), some beers, my picture taken under the and the same humble feeling that I get every time I laugh with Kitty and her fellow tenants in their world of dementia.

Finally, I couldn’t attempt this challenge without the help and support of my partner Gillian. Besides being long-suffering of my cycling, her dogged determination to influence the future of dementia care makes me very proud of her.

Read more about our fight at http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/lifestyle/health/health-news/2010/04/26/improving-dementia-care-72703-26324657/2/