Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Hi, my name is Joe and in September myself and my friend Ryan will be Cycling from Brighton to Croatia to raise money for SADS UK and to raise awareness of Sudden Arrhythmic Death syndrome.

This charity is very close to my heart as on October 23rd 2020 my world was shattered by the heartbreaking news that my girlfriend Sophie Waylen had suddenly passed away aged just 19. Sophie was just a couple of weeks into her law degree and had an incredibly bright future ahead of her. Sophie was always healthy and happy and nobody could have expected that an undiagnosed heart condition would take such an incredible person from us so soon. Sophie & I had big dreams of travelling and she had planned out multiple holidays for us for the coming years. One place she wanted to visit above all else was Croatia and when her amazing family gave me a necklace containing Sophie’s ashes for my 21st birthday I vowed that I would take Sophie with me to see everything that she could have wanted.

The plan is to start from Brighton pier on September 3rd (Sophie’s Birthday) as this was the last little holiday we took before Soph headed off to Uni. From there we will then travel by bicycle across Europe and down to Croatia crossing 9 countries, crossing the alps and covering around 2200 miles.

SADS UK is a cardiac charity working to save young lives. Sadly, Sudden Arrhythmic Death SAD is more common than currently recognised. SADS UK campaigns, raises awareness and organises defibrillators and training in schools and the community, it funds research into SADS and was instrumental in making changes to DOH policy that has saved lives. The charity supports people affected by sudden cardiac death and people who suffered a cardiac arrest and, or, have been diagnosed with a heart rhythm condition.