My Dad, George, would have celebrated his 100th birthday this April. When I had a stroke in June 2009, his memory inspired me to set clear goals to drive my rehabilitation. My Dad was a very fit amateur club cyclist in the late 1930s who used to go for weekday training runs from his home in Tottenham, north London up the A10 in the direction of Cambridge. Cycling had to go on hold when he voluntarily joined the Royal Navy in 1939 as a Morse code instructor.

When was in the Regional Rehabilitation Unit of Northwick Park hospital, remembering my Dad, I resolved to 'Never Give Up', my personal motto that still keeps me pedalling to this day! My first experience of what would go on to be my passion, recumbent cycling, was at Calvert Trust, Exmoor in 2016. Finally, I could safely get the adrenaline pumping by hooning around at hair-raising speeds. The Calvert Trust has a motto for the disabled, 'Forget about what you can't do and concentrate on what you can do'.  

Calvert Trust Exmoor is an accessible adventure centre that caters for all disabilities. Visitors enjoy the beautiful setting, freshly prepared meals and do activities such as horse riding, canoeing, abseiling, cycling & more - things they could never normally do, alongside their friends and family. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Calvert Trust Exmoor is closed to guests. They are now relying purely on the generosity and kindness of supporters to ensure we can keep crucial funds coming in.Crucial funds that are needed to cover essential and unavoidable costs like caring for the horses and maintaining the fabric of the centre to ensure they open again in the future.I'm doing a personal challenge that fits my lifestyle, for people with disabilities and their families. Please support me with a donation. Or start your own fundraiser - step, run or wheel wherever you like, whenever you like, at your own pace, to fundraise for Calvert Trust Exmoor. And have lots of fun doing it!