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I am going to be the designated driver for this event (someone’s got to carry the clobber!) Simon Day has organised this alongside my son-in-law Richard Jones and Ian Cunliffe, all originally from the UK but now living in New Zealand.  I decided not to ride as my bike might not cope with it!

I was touched by Simon’s description of his friendship with John Poustie who is the person who inspired this jaunt, as well as being keen to support an excellent charity.  I don’t think I can describe it any better than Simon so here are his words:

John Poustie was one of the most charismatic people I have ever come across. We shared a house as students, played club and county rugby together, taught for many years at the same school, played squash incredibly competitively and had an unbelievable amount of adventures and laughs. Above all, he made people of any age smile whatever he was doing, and he was a brilliant teacher and an inspiration to many.

At the age of 63 he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s and life for him and his family would progressively become more challenging with the sad deterioration of memory and physical capabilities linked to this wretched disease.

He and his family have received amazing support from the charity Age UK (Exeter) since the onset; it provides day care services for those with dementia/Alzheimers as well as providing other initiatives for those coping with a partner who has Alzheimers. All funding comes from charitable donations.

I took up cycling at the start of 2017 and so have decided to ride with two Kiwi friends, from Newcastle, the northernmost Premier rugby club in England, to Exeter the southernmost and my old club, which John also played for. Our route will cover about 800 kilometres and will take us just under a week which I feel is a suitably demanding challenge and worthy as a fundraising exercise.

I am asking for your generous support for the venture which I know will do much for families coping with loved ones with dementia and Alzheimers. All funds will go direct to the charity as we are totally covering our costs.

Very sadly, John passed away just after Christmas, so the ride will now be in his memory.

Age UK Exeter runs centres on at least 2 days a week for people with Alzheimer's/Dementia with a high ratio of staff and volunteers, giving meaningful and supportive care.

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