Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

In the last weekend of October 2011, Katy and Bethan will ride a lifetime. “What is this all about?” we hear you cry. Well, in a nutshell, Katy shall explain...

"Simply put, my Dad David is my hero. Always has been, always will be. Four years ago, he was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease. As a University lecturer, journalist and hugely keen sportsman (among many other things) this was pretty crippling for him. Two years ago, after a period of overly-fast deterioration, we found out that Dad does not, in fact, have Parkinson's Disease but, instead, its "bigger, nastier cousin" (his words, not mine) called MSA - Multiple Systems Atrophy. The symptoms are too numerous to mention and, with the power of Google, I don't think sharing any more detail about it here is necessary, but Dad is not a well man.

However, there is a great charity out there called the MSA Trust who offer fantastic support for MSA patients and their carers as well as carrying out vital research into this as yet relatively unknown disease. Therefore, we thought we'd conjure up a cycling challenge (well - it is what we do for a living!) in their aid from where Dad was born (Denton, nr Manchester), via where he went to university (Cambridge, need you ask) to where he lives now (Dulwich, London), with a few other meaningful stops along the way.

 

The itinerary is as follows:

Sun 30th Oct: Denton, Manchester to Sheffield

Mon 31st Oct: Sheffield to Leicester

Tues 1st Nov: Leicester to Cambridge

Weds 2nd Nov: Cambridge to Dulwich, London

 

This ride will take myself and Bethan (I think Dad is fast becoming her hero too..) 3.5 days and will cover over 300 miles; gruelling, wet and cold at best. This is definitely not a holiday!

So regardless of whether you know Dad personally, please please give generously...this is the hardest physical challenge that we will have ever undertaken and the MSA Trust really does need the funds/exposure to be able to continue its great work."

Thank you very much from us all. xx

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.