I am doing a virtual bike ride from Land's End to John O'Groats, covering a distance of 1,636 km (1,022.5 miles) using the MotoMed bikes at Pop-Up Gym.

I will be raising money for Pop-Up Gym, a charity in Gateshead that provides rehabilitation and specialist exercise facilities for people with spinal cord injuries and a variety of neurological disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neuron Disease, and stroke rehabilitation. It is the only specialised gym outside of the hospital environment, and available to the public once initial rehab has taken place, in the north of England. They provide a fun, safe, professional environment with the feel of a small community, with both paid staff including personal trainers and a neuro rehab physiotherapist, and volunteers in personal training and admin. Members can 'pay as they go' or sign up to pay monthly, but like any charity the gym's overheads, including staff wages, need to be paid.

I have multiple health problems including chronic severe brittle asthma, insulin dependent steroid-induced diabetes, Cushing's Syndrome, and liver disease. On 1st September 2016 and again on 8th October 2016 my back suddenly broke for no apparent reason, most likely as a result of the long-term high-dose steroids I have to take to control my asthma, and on both occasions of my back breaking I incurred the spinal cord injury cauda equina syndrome. I underwent emergency surgery each time, but the second surgery had to be delayed for a month because whilst waiting for an Intensive Care Unit bed to be available for after the operation I contracted MRSA septicaemia. Quite miraculously, I came through, but I have been left with some permanent disability because of the spinal cord injury.

Until Pop-Up Gym opened on 15th January 2018 I was unable to exercise, certainly unable to exercise safely because of my multiple health problems, and definitely not able to use an exercise bike. But with access to the MotoMed bikes at Pop-Up Gym I can now pedal away and dream about where I'm cycling to and all the things I might be seeing along the way. It is on the MotoMed bikes at the gym that I will be doing my sponsored virtual bike ride.

Whilst the MotoMed bikes are powered to get the user started, and there is the facility to let the motor kick in and do the pedalling for you, they also encourage the user to cycle themselves, measuring the symmetry of power in each leg and encouraging a 50/50 balance, thus improving strength in weakened and damaged muscles. It is all part of the rehabilitation, and I certainly have improved strength, stamina, and symmetry since starting at Pop-Up Gym, and once the bike has got me started I do all the work myself.

I have planned a route for my virtual ride comprising of twenty-two legs between Land's End in Cornwall and John O'Groats in the far north of Scotland. I will be stopping at a variety of interesting places and writing a blog to tell you all of my journey - where I'm going, how far I'm travelling each day, what I've seen, photos of my trip, and perhaps some of the (fictional) folk I meet along the way. You can find the blog here: Pop Up The Country.

Depending on health, I hope to complete the 1,636 km distance in about eight weeks, based on attending the gym two to three times a week. That is a lot of kilometres, and the cause is a great one so please do sponsor me if you can.

With thanks in advance, Becky.