Parksie rode for Cure Parkinson’s - POSTED AFTER CHALLENGE

The debrief having completed my self-created challenge of cycling 400 miles across the UK to raise awareness and and funds for #CureParkinson’s. The page is still open for any donations/sponsorship If you are so inclined.

Thank you to all who have supported me and Cure Parkinson’s Charity (it is a global charity now with very local roots, chasing the goal of finding a cure for Parkinson’s Disease). A few more words about how it went below - and a quick camera roll

Day 1 4am Start - Aberdaron, Wales, at 10am last Tuesday, dunked my head in the Irish Sea - so excited was I that I forgot to put my padded shorts and chamois cream up. I hit the road with gusto, probably a little too hard. When climbing over Snowdonia after 4 hours in 25c I was running low on water. It was stunning and it hit me that I was actually doing it. Something I had thought about and made a reality - absorb it, enjoy it and be present. Being a lucky fella, I had accidentally input the wrong destination, with the same name, into my satnav (in my rush to leave), and when 20 miles from the wrong destination I spotted the correct overnight accommodation. Had I missed it or been on a different road I could have faced an additional 40 miles!!!

Day 2 8am Start - was equally gorgeous weather and the route took me along the River Severn, I had to go for a wild swim and saw a steam train pass overhead near the iconic Ironbridge. The only downer on another awesome experience was dropping my phone and smashing the screen. Fortunately my back up and navigation phone enabled me to continue to Stratford Upon Avon.

Day 3 8am Start - was to be the warmest. Neil Gardener arrived to cycle with me which was fun. We had some fun on a pump track in Aylesbury, saw HS2 being constructed, passed Silverstone and crossed the Chilterns. All to return to Rickmansworth. Calling in to see my mum and the care home staff and residents was nice, then to share a few beers, at the Creative, and get a good night's sleep in my own bed.

Day 4 7.30am Start - was through London and down the coast of Kent to Margate. Adrian Lacey joined me for moral support, we called into the National Hospital for Neurology (where much of the research into Parkinson’s is led on a global basis). The temperature down by the Thames was 35c, again water management was an issue, it was very tempting to stop at many different pubs, or throw myself in the Thames Estuary! Arriving in Margate at 7pm was lovely and getting wet in the English Channel was a treat. I had made it from Sea to the Channel and ironically playing at Dreamland that evening was Billy Ocean!

Nearly 40 hours in the saddle and 400 miles later it was fantastic to see the total on the justgiving page pass through £5000, the money will be used by Cure Parkinson’s to find a cure. Hopefully a cure will help someone in the future avoid some of the 40+ symptoms the disease brings. More and more of us are suffering from neurological diseases, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s, let’s find that cure.

Thanks again for the support. The page is still open. Best wishes, Andrew.

ORIGINAL POST

I’ve fallen off my bike a few times over the years - and a quite recent example was when I took my wife’s new bike out for a spin to visit my mum in her care home a few miles from my house. I suffered a few cuts and bruises but I’ve come to realise in recent years, this is nothing compared to the damage Parkinson’s Disease is doing to my mum. Lucky for me, the cuts and bruises heal, but the damage to her brain and body is something indescribably awful for her to endure. Also challenging for me to witness and do my best to help care for.

I’m a practical soul, and decided I needed to do more to help people suffering with this cruel disease. I asked Professor Tom Foltynie (mum's super neuro consultant), who, in his opinion, is contributing the most towards solving this disease and who I should support, his response was ‘Cure Parkinson’s’. Their plan is to cure the disease and make themselves redundant, a great goal. This also happens to be their 20th year of effort to solve it and end.

In the spirit of learning to ride my wife’s bike a little better, I have asked her if I can borrow it to ride from Aberdaron, in Wales, to Margate in Kent. Covering 400 miles in 4 days. It’s planned to go something like the sketchy map below. So far the plan is for a mate to drop me off in Aberdaron. I’m planning 3 stops along the way, 1 of which will be at my home in Rickmansworth, maybe collecting a few friends to ride to Margate with and have a beer.

My goal is to raise awareness, and of course much needed funds, for research into a cure for Parkinson’s. My younger brother, Jonathan, sadly passed away 10 years ago after a 15 year battle with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) - similarly during that time I did a challenge or two to raise funds for MS research. My hope is that Parkinson’s (and MS) research get a fair share of funding. They seem to be solvable mistakes of nature and it would spare those afflicted from significant difficulties and suffering .

My mum, sadly, has been in decline for the last 10 years since losing my brother. On a daily basis I can assure you (now as her primary carer) that Parkinson’s comes with wild complexity, unpredictability and significant physical and mental challenges. This riding challenge pales in comparison, but hopefully it helps in some small way.

If you are in a position to do so, please give generously to support finding a CURE for PARKINSON’S. It sadly won’t benefit my mum, as her disease is now too advanced, but it may well end up benefiting someone you know in the future.

I will endeavour to share updates along the journey, this is the plan:

Starting in Aberdaron, Wales on 8th July 2025:

Day 1 to Welshpool

Day 2 to Stratford upon Avon

Day 3 to Rickmansworth

Day 4 to Margate

Feel free to ride along, support and/or sponsor, it will all help and motivate me to push those pedals along the way - ultimately my hope is this comparatively small amount of effort on my part will contribute to the great work being done to find a cure for this cruel disease.

Thank you for reading and don’t forget to Gift Aid it ;-)!

Training ride completed - 70 miles of the Tour de Ricky, a couple more in June and off we go

Cure Parkinson's are here for the cure. Cure Parkinson’s is working with urgency to find new treatments to slow, stop and reverse Parkinson’s.Their funding and innovation has redefined the field of Parkinson’s research, enabling the world’s leading researchers to prioritise the next generation of drugs for clinical trial. Together we will conquer Parkinson’s.