The sun was shining for our trio riding for MDS on Sunday 29 May - Tim Woolley, Adrian Skardhamer and Alexander Myers - all cycled 100 miles in the RideLondon-Essex 100 challenge in support of our charity! Our brilliant riders arrived within an hour of each other.  

Alex was the first to arrive after 6h 32min followed by Tim at 7h 40min and Adrian 7h 47m. A huge CONGRATULATIONS!! and thanks to all of them!!

  Alex and Tim spotted each other and managed to get a selfie mid the race and Adrian completed the race using a mountain bike which added an extra challenge as it was heavier than the other road bikes competing. 

We had a great spot next to Tower Bridge to welcome our riders. Sophie met one of our youngest supporters Rajika who spotted our logo and remembered it from when her school fundraised last year for MDS  The family are now in contact about another potential fundraiser. 

Once in central London, they completed their ride to rapturous applause at Tower Bridge – a stunning Finish Line for the 100-mile challenge!! 

Please help by donating via their Just Giving pages.

Tim Woolley says on his JustGiving page 

I will be doing this to raise money for MDS which is a charity that is very close to my family. My uncle John was diagnosed with MDS a number of years ago and unfortunately for everyone who knew him, he eventually passed away from it. 

Adrian Skardhamer's JustGiving page says 

While, I'm a keen-ish off-road cyclist and normally ride a couple of times a month (if it's not raining, or windy, I'm not hungover, and there's a pub at the end), this ride is still going to be an absolute nightmare for me. I will be doing this to raise money for MDS as my uncle John passed away from it. Please help me out, not least cos if I don't make the target I'll have to pay the balance as well as ride the stupid race. Cheers Ade 

Alexander Myers JustGiving 

I am aiming to complete RideLondon-Essex 100 2022 to raise funds for the charity, having previously done so in 2018. 

 

Alex's father-in-law is our wonderful treasurer Don Barrett who has been doing an amazing job for so many years. We met Don from our previous Chair, Prof Rodney Taylor – who did such a huge amount for our charity - and passed away from MDS  - after serving as Chair for almost 7 years. Rodney's wife has also always been hugely supportive of MDS UK. 

A HUGE THANK YOU to Tim, Adrian, Alex and all their friends and sponsors for their support! 

Their efforts raise public awareness of MDS and our small charity MDS UK. We need as much help as possible in order to carry on our work of supporting patients and campaigning with them! 

The Route 

They set off from Victoria Embankment in central London and head into Essex via the historic Epping Forest. Once in Essex, they cycled past some of the county’s most picturesque towns and villages, including Ongar, Fyfield, the Rodings and Great Dunmow, before joining a section of the 2014 Stage Three Tour de France route. 

They went through Felsted and around the county town of Chelmsford before heading through Writtle and back towards Ongar and central London. 

If you've been inspired by this story, why not join us next year for RideLondon 2023. You can take part in a 30, 60 or 100 mile race to support MDS.  If you're interested email Ashleigh Venables - Fundraising Officer MDS UK at fundraising@mdspatientsupport.org.uk