Riding high

MSer Peter Fletcher explains why he took on a 100 mile cycling challenge last year

When I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in November of 2020, the first item in my mind after all the medical questions was will I have to give up riding my bike? As someone who has always been a keen cyclist this was a hard question to have to face.

Well as it turns out this was a definite no. My MS nurse in fact told me I was not to give up doing anything I enjoy – in fact she went as far as to tell my wife that she should ensure that I continue.

Anyway, fast forward to 2023 and after speaking to my neighbour it was decided that I should target the 2024 Ride London-Essex. This wasn’t the first time that I had ridden 100 miles, but it was the first time in a good few years.

Deciding to ride for a charity was also something that I felt was important, so I chose MS-UK as the charity that I was going to ride for.

Training for Ride London-Essex was always going to be a challenge in itself with a young family and also when holding down a full time job. I had to factor in the days when your body just says no, but with perseverance and friends and family that just know better (and if I’m honest they usually do) I got my training in.

A good friend of mine convinced me to ride with him and a group of his work colleagues in January, and then he entered me into a sportive riding 63 miles around Somerset in April. With this my training was pushed up a notch and after completing that, I knew Ride London-Essex was achievable.

So with the great support of friend and the help and continuous support from MS-UK I was ready for the day. I laid out my cycling gear the night before in great anticipation of the day ahead.

As many people with MS know, you never know which ‘you’ is going to wake up on any given day, and there was always the worry that the day could have been a struggle from start to finish. Getting up at six in the morning I thankfully woke full of energy and filled with excitement for the day ahead. Pulling on my Team Purple MS-UK jersey, I made my way to the start.

Having never taken part in a mass participation event before I didn’t know what to expect, but there was nothing at all to worry about, with lots of helpful people on hand. The start was an absolute joy.

I planned to make full use of every stop to refuel throughout the event and just enjoy it as I know there are times when I push myself too hard without thinking about the fact I am riding with a medical condition.

Being cheered on along the route it was great to see so many people riding for so many charities. I rode for a brief time with a gentleman who was also riding for MS-UK, just chatting away and enjoying the ride.

It was amazing to hear the shouts from the MS-UK guys as I passed them, I felt so proud as I had spoken to Katie from the fundraising team on the phone so many times on the lead up to the ride.

Crossing the finish line on Tower Bridge was amazing! With a burst of energy I pushed myself to get across that finish line and with some emotion I collected the finishers’ medal knowing that not only had I achieved a goal which I had been working towards for some time but I had done it with MS and for MS.

The main thing I would like to get across from this is that MS should not be seen as a barrier. Yes, it affects us all differently and all our symptoms are different but we are still people who are more than capable of achieving amazing things.

If there is a challenge that you wish to carry out then do it, and maybe keep MS-UK in mind as you do so. They are so helpful and supportive when it comes to the fundraising. They are also very willing to spend some time just chatting and finding out more about you!