The motivation behind our bike ride comes from my family (Ruth). Both my grandmothers had strokes. My mother's mother had a stroke on my 5th birthday, losing the ability to speak, and losing most of her movement, before another series of strokes ended her life four years later. She was a brilliant, intelligent woman, and it devastated us all to see her this way. Sadly, my father's mother also had a stroke four years ago, just after her 80th birthday. She completely lost the use of her left side and is now confined to a wheelchair and requires four visits from carers every day. Fortunately, she retained her ability to speak as she is a witty, charming lady who thoroughly enjoys having visitors. At the age of 84 she still manages to charm all the carers and doctors with her impeccable manners.
Whilst we're largely taking part in the ride because of my personal experiences, our real aim is simply to get people thinking about stroke. Stroke is the third biggest killer in the UK and the largest cause of disability in adults, yet it doesn't seem to register in the common consciousness. Every year an estimated 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke. Today, a quarter of a million people are living with a long-term disability as a direct result of a stroke. The Stroke Association is the only UK charity solely concerned with combating stroke. They fund important research into prevention, treatment and better methods of rehabilitation, and help stroke survivors and their families directly through our community services.
The four of us only met a year ago, when Ruth moved to Witney and started working with Katie. We all got drunk and went for a curry and the rest is history...
We're none of us practiced cyclists. Ruth only learned to ride a bike at the age of 13, Katie at the age of 12, before she lost a tooth in an accident three years later and vowed never to travel by two wheels again. Mat fancies himself a keen cyclist, but his bike spends most of its time residing in the downstairs toilet. Ali doesn't have the best of luck with bikes. If they're not stolen, they're broken, but they're generally loved.
Several months into training, with only two weeks to go, we are just about getting there. Ali and Katie have recently upgraded their bikes. Katie is now racing ahead of the rest of the pack, but Ali continues to have mechanical difficulties! We recently managed our first 70 mile group ride, and are just hoping our poor battered bodies don't completely give up on us before the event itself!
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Mat, Katie, Ali and Ruth
xxx
