It was actually my youngest sibling, Andrew Bishop’s idea to take part in RideLondon. When he said it was 100 miles, I though wow, I have never ridden that far!, but the minute I heard it was for Muscular Dystrophy UK I knew I was in.
The reason why Muscular Dystrophy UK is so important to us all is my sister’s son, Andrew Jones, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy. From diagnosis, Little Andrew has received support from the charity, as well as family and friends, so we want to take on this big challenge together as a family to show our support.
It is not Leigh’s first time taking on a challenge for charity. Last year he took part in the Cardiff 10k for Kidney Wales.
My neighbour’s daughter needed a kidney transplant so I wanted to do it for her. I was also in the military for 27 years and we often took part in challenges for charity. Continuing to do this has been a big part of helping me to adjust back to civilian life, as well as keeping fit.
Leigh has already hit his fundraising target of £550 for Muscular Dystrophy UK with over 6 weeks to go ahead of the big day, but aims to carry on.
Fundraising has gone very well. I set up an online fundraising page which has already raised £165 by sharing it on Facebook and LinkedIn and I’ve also raised £400 through offline sponsorship by going round and asking friends, family and colleagues to sponsor me. I have recently changed jobs, so hopefully soon I will be able to ask there too!
Leigh has been a keen cyclist since he was young, but has been helping his brother-in-law, Lloyd, adjust from running to cycling.
I have suggested to Lloyd that during the busy week get to gym about 3 times for spin classes or short, high intensity training on an exercise bike or turbo trainer and then at the weekend we go out on a long ride together.
It seems to be working, as each week we have been able to go further. For Lloyd’s first ride, we managed to do 35 miles and from there we’ve added on about 10 miles each week. On our last ride along the South Wales coast, we hit 80 miles, which is a personal record for both of us!
To make training a bit more exciting, Leigh and Lloyd have also signed up to the Velothon Wales, a 140km closed-road sportive through the South Wales mountains, which will make the Surrey hills of RideLondon look like a piece of cake. They will also be taking on 22 miles in July in support of three cancer charities.
To sponsor Leigh, visit his online fundraising page.
