The background

My father has always loved the great outdoors and is an avid adventurer. As children we were always outdoors, swimming in the sea or running through the woods, taking in everything mother nature had to offer. We were inspired never to give up,no matter what, and to find light even at the darkest of times. This deep connection to hope, hills, woods and the coast is still close to all our hearts and heals almost anything this world can throw at us. Before we continue, we should say, this story is not about loss, it’s about the strength to overcome adversity; something we all face.

Ataxia diagnosis

Around ten years ago my father was diagnosed with Ataxia, a rare degenerative neurological condition. This condition impacts mobilty, cognition, speech and balance. It meant my father slowly lost the ability to cycle or walk unaided, but the biggest loss was confidence. We saw my father withdraw into himself as he fought to come to terms with his condition. Now this is not a story of woe, that‘s not somewhere we’ll go.

Finding Freedom

Last year my father started to look into ways that he could get back mobile, this included everything from an xoskeleton to the wrong trousers from Wallace and Gromit. We would spend hours researching the latest technology but nothing was available or accesible. That was until we found Tom, a mobilty specialist, passionate about getting people with limited mobilty back cycling. Tom recommended an Ice Trike, made in the UK these are specialist adventure trikes that are adapted for the differently abled ( we prefer this to disabled). After much convincing, and a test run, my father finally got his Ice Trike in Dec 2021. The change has been nothing short of transformational, and inspriring to watch. On our first ride out in ten years I watched his worried expression fall away to a broad smile, followed by wonderful heartfelt laughter. He sped off and lapped me a few times much to his amusement. Over the last 4 weeks he has built up his distance and confidence to explore his new found freedom. Naturally we want to harness this energy to raise funds for others to experience freedom.

The challenge!

On the 9th April 2022, my father will ride a half marathon along the North Dorset Trailway. This 13 mile route represents a massive challenge for my father but he wants to do this to help others to find freedom. He will be joined by friends and family along the route, who will run, walk and provide the much needed support and encouragement.

How will the funds be used?

We want to give back this gift of freedom by funding as many accesssible tandem bikes and solo trikes as we can. We want to provide these to local Dorset charities so that as many people as possible can benefit from the freedom to ride. We also plan to set up a repair fund to cover the maintenance and any safety equipment.