On the 7th May 2011, I am going to start a bicycle ride from Lands End to John O'Groats. It's something I've wanted to do for a few years now, so to combine it with raising some money for a very worthwhile charity just seemed to make sense. My aim is to complete the ride in 9 days, covering approximately 100 miles per day and I'm confident that I can achieve this.
Rachael is going to be my 'Support Crew' for the trip, and will completing her journey in the positively luxurious surroundings of a motorhome, (yet to be arranged/booked, any help gratefully received), so it's going to be an adventure for both of us. Over the next couple of months, I will add a Blog page so you can keep an eye on my training, and then my progress each day during the ride.
The charity I have chosen to raise money for is Diabetes UK. There are currently over 2.6 million people with diabetes in the UK and there are up to half a million people with diabetes who have the condition and don't know it. Having friends and family that have and continue to suffer from diabetes, I think make it a great cause.
Most health experts agree that the UK is facing a huge increase in the number of people with diabetes. Since 1996 the number of people diagnosed with diabetes has increased from 1.4 million to 2.6 million. By 2025 it is estimated that over four million people will have diabetes. Most of these cases will be Type 2 diabetes, because of our ageing population and rapidly rising numbers of overweight and obese people.
The figures are alarming and confirm that diabetes is one of the biggest health challenges facing the UK today. If we are to curb this growing health crisis and see a reduction in the number of people dying from diabetes and its complications, we need to increase awareness of the risks, bring about wholesale changes in lifestyle, improve self-management among people with diabetes and improve access to integrated diabetes care services.
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