Charities

I made it !!

Setting off from home at 5.20 am to meet my co rider on Sunday morning seems an life time ago and arriving at the Olympic Park at 7.00 am with a further  hour an a half wait until we could actually start cycling seemed like an eternity.
 
But then off with a whoosh and cycled the first 20 miles in not much over an hour. Far quicker than intended but we got carried away with the traffic free  [ what a privilege ] and flat roads, so it wasn’t until we got to Richmond Park that we remembered we still had 80 miles to go!  
 
Remembering to eat and drink lots gave us sufficient energy to get to the end and all those hours in training over the past 6 months stood us in good stead. 
 
We had been warned of Leith Hill at mile 55……the steepest on the route….but was it quite as bad as I had anticipated ?... not really but still a huge challenge and we managed it without stopping, unlike some of our much younger cyclists.
 
Box Hill at mile 68 seemed like a doddle, comparatively speaking and then mostly flat and down hill all the way back in to London, apart from Wimbledon Hill which at mile 90 seemed like Mount Everest… down to a slow plod up at this stage.
 
A traffic free environment along the Embankment from Fulham all the way to the Houses of Parliament was simply amazing and then from there, up Whitehall and finally The Mall where the crowds were huge, noisy and totally inspirational.
 
I can recommend the whole experience for anyone who is up for a challenge. 
 
The organisation around the whole course was simply terrific ensuring all the riders were kept safe. There must have been thousands of marshals and stewards around the 100 miles.
 
So……I simply can’t thank you enough for your generous donation….it spurred me on during the months of training and on the day, but most importantly it has provided  The Alzheimers Society  with much needed funds  to fight this wicked illness…… so it is on their behalf, that I give my biggest thanks.
 
Next year?? Well maybe….but I need to rest a little first and then have a think.
 
With thanks and kind regards, 
 
Barry Henderson
KMS Estates Ltd
 
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/barryhenderson51

I have managed to secure a place in this year’s Ride London, a cycling event at the end of July which involves a 100 mile circular route starting at the Olympic Park, travelling in to Surrey tackling the infamous Leith and Box Hills and finishing in The Mall.

I decided to enter this event as I wanted to raise much needed finance to carry out ongoing research for The Alzheimer's Society.

I have witnessed first hand what an evil and wicked disease this is, that not only has a devastating effect on the patient, but also all of their immediate family. My wife’s mum, Mary, has been suffering for a long time and finally had to go in to a Home about 2 years ago.She receives amazing care 24/7 from a wonderful and loving group of carers and she could not be in better hands.

Up until 2 years ago, Mary still lived at home where her husband was in effect a full time ,unpaid carer. In the later period his own health suffered dramatically as he had to attend to her every need, night and day, and suffered in particular severely from sleep deprivation. In the end he simply made himself ill and finally had to give in and acknowledge that Mary had to be looked after by others.

He had also “lost” the woman he fell in love with, married, had a family, and enjoyed his life with especially when they moved to Norfolk when he retired from work. Mary’s inability to communicate is desperate to witness for her and all her family.

The Alzheimer's Society need as much funding as possible to carry on the research into and hopeful cure/prevention of this awful illness.

I hope that any donations I receive will add in some small way to this process.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/barryhenderson51