I died on 10th July 2023. I was cycling into Windsor with three mates when, suddenly, I felt incredibly dizzy; I knew I was going to fall off my bike. For the next couple of seconds it was as if I was in a sandstorm so dense I could see nothing. I couldn’t balance and I couldn’t see. My last thoughts were “this isn’t good!" Then my heart stopped beating. I stopped breathing. I’d had a cardiac arrest.

Before I died, I thought I was fit and healthy. Everyone else thought I was fit and healthy. The week before, I’d been cycling around the north coast of Scotland: 500 miles in 7 days. But clearly not as fit and healthy as we all thought.

British Heart Foundation: “There are over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year in the UK, but less than one in ten people survive. Quick CPR and defibrillation is vital to give someone the best chance of survival. Every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest. Performing early CPR and having access to a defibrillator gives someone the best chance of survival.”

My chosen method of survival was to have my cardiac arrest in Windsor on the day that Joe Biden was in town to see King Charles. Accompanying Joe Biden was a massive police presence and a number of Armed Response Vehicles. Several police saw me collapse, and started CPR almost immediately. ARVs are always equipped with a defibrillator. There was an ARV on the roundabout where I collapsed. The defibrillator was on me within a couple of minutes. So I didn’t stay dead.

I was one of the “less-than-one-in-ten”. Not one of the 27,000 out of 30,000. But hoping that Joe Biden is in town, isn’t a reliable method of survival. One of the many wonderful projects of the British Heart Foundation, is to provide free defibrillators to community groups, where they’re needed. So it’s a no-brainer for me to join in raising funds for BHF. I love cycling. I love living. And I love Joe Biden.

I first rode the L2B in 1988, when I was 29, and for the next four years. Again in 2014 and 2015 (twice😳). I am now 65, and both proud and privileged again, to be able to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. I appreciate any support you may be able to give. Thank you!

Graham