Mending Broken Hearts

First things first: BRIAN BLESSED RETWEETED A LINK TO MY BLOG!!!!  Unsurprisingly, this made my day and also sent the page view numbers sky-rocketing, given that he has more than 32,000 followers on Twitter.  So, er, hello to all you blessed Blessed fans who have just joined me on my journey! Oh, and THANKS BRIAN!

My third effort at cycling to work was not incident free - James got into an argument with another cyclist (who had just ridden across a junction on a red light and nearly got himself flattened by a car), I nearly went over my handlebars when another stupid cyclist didn't pull away from another set of lights in an appropriate fashion, I had a bit more gear trouble and then when I was folding my bike for the office, I dropped one of the bolts that hold the handlebars on (which, thankfully, I found fairly swiftly).  On the plus side, I cycled with a rucksack for the first time, I dealt with several buses in a pretty adequate way and I cycled the bit from James' office to mine for the first time.

Tonight will see a very big test for me - I will have to cycle all the way home on my own, as James has something on tonight that I'm not going to.  I think it will be fine. Maybe.

It has struck me that I've spent quite a lot of time, energy and internet space telling you all about me and my cycling experiences, but very little time telling you about the bigger picture of why I'm doing this. Of course, part of it is the personal challenge of learning to ride a bike, getting some transport independence and having a nice weekend in Brighton (once I've got there!), but I'm hoping that far more people will benefit from my efforts than just me.

The London to Brighton Bike Ride is organised as a fundraising event for British Heart Foundation, and it is no coincidence that it is their event that I have chosen to be part of.  Heart disease, heart attacks and related medical, social and psychological issues are likely to touch us all at some point.  I've lost several relatives and friends to heart-related illnesses and heart attacks and I know plenty of folk who are living with some kind of heart problem, from the vicar to my parents' dog (here's a gratuitous picture of Emma the greyhound for a bit of cute factor!)  We all know in our hearts (groan!) that there are things we can do to prevent heart disease - eating healthily, exercising, not smoking, not drinking too much (all that boring stuff) - and I think it is down to the individual to do their best on that front.  However, there is something that really appeals to me about the work that BHF is doing in their "Mending Broken Hearts" research campaign.

You see, when someone has a heart attack, their heart (which is a muscle, as we all know from our first biology class) is damaged.  Once it is damaged, it is (at present) not possible to "fix" it.  It is broken.  I guess living with a post-attack heart is a bit like trying to cycle with a slow puncture that can't be repaired - you can go along reasonably well for quite a long time, but it doesn't take much to tip it over the edge and make it completely useless.  The research that BHF are funding from their "Mending Broken Hearts" campaign is aiming to find a way to fix hearts that have already had a heart attack - invent a puncture repair kit, if you like.  There are many people I know whose quality of life and general well-being would be considerably improved by such a repair (and you or I could benefit in the future), and it is for that reason that I want to raise as much money as I can for BHF while doing my training and the London to Brighton Bike Ride itself.  So far, I'm up to £223, and my total has stayed there for about 2 weeks.  I'd really like to raise at least £500.

I know that these are hard times, but I would really appreciate it if you would consider sponsoring me - think of what you might have spent on a book or a newspaper if you hadn't had the opportunity to read this blog instead, for example - and remember that every penny counts.  If you'd like to help me to help BHF mend some broken hearts, then please click on the link to my Justgiving page on the right hand side and follow the instructions on how to donate.  Thanks!