A lot of you probably know I have Meneire's disease which has played havoc with my life over the past five years or so. I could just accept it and let it control my life, but although known cure it can mostly be managed. I do get the vertigo attacks but my main issue from this condition is with my balance. I have to concentrate on what I'm doing when walking and doing simple things like that, that we normally wouldn't have to think about. Anyway cut a long story short last year I started to do some motor bike trials. My way of thinking is that it's all about balance, so it can only help with balance training for the Meniere's. For the most part it does help, and on the bike I get on better than I do on my feet when having a flare up. One thing that become very apparent riding a trials bike was how unfit I had become. Lock down has meant that we're not allowed to ride the trials bikes and of course club trials have been cancelled.
Back in January I decided I needed to get fitter for riding the trials bike and it wouldn't hurt me to lose a few inches around my waist, so I bought a mountain bike and started to cycle a few miles. Long time since I had pedaled a bike any distance. A few weeks after I bought the bike, I saw an advert to do a virtual coast to coast bike ride to raise money for Diabetes UK. I'm not diabetic, but several close family members are and of course in my job, I have seen what a nasty condition it can be. So I decided that I would cycle 220 miles during the month of April in aid of Diabetes UK. 220 miles doesn't sound that many miles until you try cycling them. I'm sure the roads around my way have sprouted hills, they always seemed flat in a car or on the motor bike. In January I managed to cycle 100 miles. February I managed to cycle 170.7 miles. I have set a target of 200 for March, then hopefully do 220 + miles in April. With my job, when on shift I don't get evenings off as on cal, so in April I only have 14 days that I'm not working to manage to cycle the 220 miles. Again that only equates to about 15 miles a day, but they still have to be done, rain or shine.
You can follow my progress on my fb page or on my diabetes uk just giving page. fb page is here:
[size=78%](2) Al Wilkins | Facebook[/size] My just giving page is here:
[/size][size=78%]Support Alan in UK Wide Cycle Ride (diabetes.org.uk)[/size]