Cyclist Plans 250-Mile Trip Around Kent’s 32 Historic Castles For Dementia Research
Cearon O’Flynn, who lives in Chatham, will start at Cooling Castle and cycle anti-clockwise around the county, completing the ride in just two days on 25 and 26 August.
The 33-year-old father-of-three is taking on the ‘CAstle RideE’ challenge in memory of his nan Dorothy Stockey, who died with Alzheimer’s disease in 2004 at the age of 81, and also lived in Chatham.
Cearon with daughter Darcie-Mae
Cearon, who works as a business solutions analyst, said:
“I have wanted to do something to help fight back against this disease ever since it took my nan away from my family.
“When it first started she would forget the simplest of things, like who people were or what things were called. Nan would get quite flustered and upset as she knew she should know these things.
“I’d say something, make a quip or remark that hit a nerve and suddenly it was as though a switch was flipped, the real Nan was back, who was able to remember.
“She may only have been back for a minute or two, and that time got shorter as things progressed, but in that minute it was amazing to see her again.
“It would always end with Nan saying ‘I’ll remember that’ to which I would always reply ‘No you won’t Nan, no you won’t’, and she never did.
“After a few years she stopped recognising herself, let alone her children and grandchildren. It was very distressing. She’ll never know my own children which breaks my heart.
“I love cycling and have done many long distance rides, so I wanted to do more than 100 miles to really make it a challenge worth donating for. I also love history, especially the local history around my home county of Kent.
“I thought why not combine my love of cycling and my love of history to help fight against something I hate? And that’s how CAstle RidE for Alzheimer’s was born.”
Cearon will tackle 170 miles in the first day, followed by an overnight stay in Birchington-On-Sea in Thanet before finishing the final 85 miles.
He’ll be visiting 22 castles on the first day, and 10 on the second, ending at Rochester Castle – the tallest stone keep in the country.
Rebecca Futrall, Regional Fundraising Officer for Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“Cearon is such an inspiration. It’s wonderful that he’s combining his love of history and cycling as part of an enormous challenge to raise money for vital dementia research.
“There are 850,000 people in the UK with dementia, including 21,000 in Kent. Alzheimer’s Research UK is funding the most promising research into preventions and treatments for dementia. This would not be possible without dedicated supporters like Cearon.”
To donate to Cearon’s challenge go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/KentCAstleRidE. You can also stay updated through the Twitter page – https://twitter.com/CAstle_RidE – or through the website at https://castlerideblog.wordpress.com/
