A father of three from Birmingham, Paul has decided to tackle the 300 mile ride after sadly losing his father to leukaemia in 2021.
“My dad was sporty and a very proud man. He was always very fit, even up until he got ill and it set him back health wise. He couldn’t do the things he used to do, but before that he was very active.”
“When he was diagnosed with leukaemia, I didn’t understand it at all or the impact of it. Only when I realised he may not live that long did I realise how serious it was. It’s frustrating and I wish I knew more so I could’ve supported his lifestyle change a lot more.”
Despite undergoing a heart operation only 12 months ago, Paul was determined to not let it stand in his way. After regaining fitness, he signed up for the challenge in February.
“A friend mentioned doing the London 2 Paris cycle last September, but because I had a heart operation in May last year my wife told me I couldn’t do it. I said to my friend ‘let me make sure my body is all good, then I’ll do it’.”
“Long story short, January rolled around and I still hadn’t signed up. In the back of my mind, I knew come June I would’ve been gutted if I didn’t do it. Not only for my dad, but for the challenge itself. So, I signed up and I’ve hit the ground running ever since.”
Paul has experience in both road riding and mountain biking, but this will be the first time he’s taken on a cycle of this magnitude. Rain or shine, he’s enjoyed his training programme and is looking forward to sharing his journey every step of the way in June.
“Training has been going really well. I’m naturally quite a fit person anyway, so it hasn’t been that difficult to get on the bike and ride long distances.”
“My problem is I’m a zero to 100 kind of person and I find it hard to find that middle ground to go slow. I’d wake up, feel good and train but you need to have days where you rest. I had a few injuries in the first couple of weeks, so I had to slow down a little bit into third or fourth gear.”
“I’m really looking forward to sharing the journey. What I’ve done every week, all the people who have donated and my friends, I write a little blog every Sunday and share it on WhatsApp and Facebook.”
“I share an insight into what I’ve been up to that week and how training has gone. The motivation I get from doing that is great. I’m looking forward to sharing the story as I’m going through it every single day, to get that support and feedback from people.”
Former England footballer and Patron of Cure Leukaemia, Geoff Thomas MBE, was celebrated last night with the prestigious Special Recognition Award at The Sporting Club Awards.
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