Hello everybody,

Around 120,000 people have Parkinson’s in the UK with around 10,000 new diagnoses each year. Of these, one in every 20 is under the age of 40, has young children and a promising career at the time of diagnosis.

When Mark Palin mentioned that a ride was taking place from the Olympic site in Stratford, East London to our very own Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire, to raise money for the Parkinson's Disease Society, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. Also, my sister, Clare, is running the London Marathon to raise funds for Parkinson's, so not to be outdone, I signed up for the Stratford to Stratford cycle ride.

And so, on May 1st and 2nd, my good friend, Steve Kirk (aka Captain Knobbly) and I will join about seventy others in the 110 mile journey from Stratford  to Stratford (with an overnight stop in Hemel Hemstead).

By sponsoring Steve and myself, you will be helping to fund better research into the disease and the treatment of Parkinson's, hopefully, leading one day to a cure.

For more information on the event, please visit the website below;

http://stratford-to-stratford.org.uk/

 

So please give generously.

 

Many Thanks for your support,

Matt and Steve.

 

 

Update

 

Saturday 10th April - Steve, Martin and I did the MacRide route today and we covered 62 miles in under five hours. The weather was fantastic. The ride was pretty good and we got some really good training in but I got quite saddle sore between 40 and 50 miles, so hopefully, after today, I'll be better prepared for a few weeks time. We took our training so seriously that we didn't stop for a beer, despite there being loads of opportunities.