Stu’s Big Bike Ride (Land’s End to John o’ Groats)

On 7th September I am going to embark on a big bike ride - 980 miles and the equivalent ascent of scaling Mount Everest (twice). I’ve never done anything like this before - in fact I didn't own a road bike until last October - and it’s pretty clear that I’m going to have dig deep at various points during the nine days to make it to John o' Groats.


So, in order to keep myself motivated I’m also going to be raising money for Coeliac UK. Six years ago, I’d never given coeliac disease a second thought, but then our eldest son, Cameron, became very sick. He didn’t grow, he was malnourished and he had absolutely no energy. It was a heart-breaking few months until we finally got the diagnosis that he had coeliac disease.

The good news is that thanks to a strict gluten free diet and some great support and advice from Coeliac UK, Cameron bounced back and is now a whirlwind of energy with a healthy gut, provided he sticks to a lifelong gluten free diet.

Coeliac UK do amazing work to support their 60,000+ members, including offering support for newly diagnosed coeliacs and their families, campaigning for better availability of gluten free food, funding critical research into the condition, and raising awareness to improve diagnosis rates.

As I’m pedalling away, I’m going to be thinking about how much they’ve helped us as a family. None of us would have bounced back as quickly without the support they provide.