Solo European Champs to help fight Mental Health
Donation protected
I've been organising 24hr mountain bike races since 2010 when I launched the Isle of Man's first and only 24hr race, the Longest Day Longest Ride (LDLR). Since then I have been working tirelessly building the event up from just 16 riders to nearly 300 in 2018 when we played host to the British Solo 24hr Championships.
During 2017 I was hit with a rather debilitating episode of anxiety and depression which resulted in me not being able to work for five months in early 2018. My focus was the event; I wanted, no needed to put on a fantastic event for the British Championships. Despite achieving what I set out to do my anxiety and depression were still firmly controlling my life and I was falling deeper and deeper in to that black hole. Then on 19th December I attempted to take my own life, I had hit rock bottom. I was fortunate that my wife had the foresight to use 'Find My iPhone' to locate my last recorded location before I turned my phone off and call a friend who had just left where I had gone so turned round and got me before I could go through with my intentions. I've suffered with mental health issues for over 22 years on and off and at varying degrees of severity, this last episode was by far the worst I have ever experienced. I could have easily become another statistic, but instead I made the decision to do something, to give me some focus, and not the Black Dog that had been biting at my ankles for so many months. So I set myself a goal and signed up for the WEMBO European 24hr Solo Mountain Bike Championships. Now I'm no stranger to staying awake for more than 24 hours (per above) but to ride for 24+ hours thats another thing....add to that the fact I have decided to ride it on my Singlespeed bike, that just adds another level of pain.

Now the Euro Champs are in Penafiel - Portugal in September and I am trying to raise money to help fund my road trip as well as for REACH, which is a new charity here on the Isle of Man helping people who suffer from mental health.

Please help me achieve my personal goal and raise much needed funds for REACH. Every little helps.
Thank you in advance. I will be posting some updates on how my training has been going since I started back in February.
During 2017 I was hit with a rather debilitating episode of anxiety and depression which resulted in me not being able to work for five months in early 2018. My focus was the event; I wanted, no needed to put on a fantastic event for the British Championships. Despite achieving what I set out to do my anxiety and depression were still firmly controlling my life and I was falling deeper and deeper in to that black hole. Then on 19th December I attempted to take my own life, I had hit rock bottom. I was fortunate that my wife had the foresight to use 'Find My iPhone' to locate my last recorded location before I turned my phone off and call a friend who had just left where I had gone so turned round and got me before I could go through with my intentions. I've suffered with mental health issues for over 22 years on and off and at varying degrees of severity, this last episode was by far the worst I have ever experienced. I could have easily become another statistic, but instead I made the decision to do something, to give me some focus, and not the Black Dog that had been biting at my ankles for so many months. So I set myself a goal and signed up for the WEMBO European 24hr Solo Mountain Bike Championships. Now I'm no stranger to staying awake for more than 24 hours (per above) but to ride for 24+ hours thats another thing....add to that the fact I have decided to ride it on my Singlespeed bike, that just adds another level of pain.

Now the Euro Champs are in Penafiel - Portugal in September and I am trying to raise money to help fund my road trip as well as for REACH, which is a new charity here on the Isle of Man helping people who suffer from mental health.

Please help me achieve my personal goal and raise much needed funds for REACH. Every little helps.
Thank you in advance. I will be posting some updates on how my training has been going since I started back in February.Organizer
Gary Cooper
Organizer
Douglas, Isle of Man