Ross-shire Roadies grind through the gears for Doddie
HARDY Ross-shire cyclists who took on a gruelling 800-mile challenge to help fund research into a cruel and currently incurable condition have generated a remarkable £14,000.
Ross-shire Roadies took part in Doddie's grand tour, the latest in a series of annual charity rides for the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation.
In common with many others, it is a cause close to individual team members’ hearts for a variety of reasons.
The effort is inspired by Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir who fought a dignified battle against motor neurone disease (MND), a life-shortening and usually rapidly progressing condition which affects the motor neurons of the nervous system.
READ ALSO
More on MND from the pages of the Ross-shire
Ross-shire newsletter twice a week to your inbox
Robbie Forsyth, a former GP in Beauly was the organiser.
Overall fundraising lead Rob Wainwright, the former Scottish rugby player, who will be 60 next month, spoke movingly while tackling a gruelling hill in Glenshee about the motivation for getting involved.
Filmed puffing his way up a seemingly endless hill, and already 600 miles into the challenge, he admitted: “This is very unpleasant but I chose to do it and at the top I’ll get off my bike and feel better.
“If you’ve got MND, you’re stuck on that slope and it just gets steeper and steeper. There is no top and then you fall or you just stop, you give up. So please, please donate on the link there to fund research to find solutions into MND and give people who are on this slope suffering from the disease a summit to look forward to by finding solutions to the disease. Thank you.”
The My Name'5 Doddie Foundation declares itself “absolutely committed” to the goal of a world free of MND, stating: “We will leave no stone unturned in the relentless pursuit of this goal as we fund, guide and enable the smartest, most efficient MND research to catalyse a cure for motor neuron disease.”
The so-called Grand Tour series of fundraisers have to date raised over £532,000
Amongst those cheering from home was Dr Moira Mckenna, whose brother-in-law, Colin Gilmour, was amongst the cyclist making it to Edinburgh in time for Scotland’s international rugby clash with Ireland at the weekend.
The Ross-shire Roadies included Robert Forsyth; Catriona Forsyth; Adam Syme; Robert Cartwright; Colin Gilmour; Simon Russell and Fergus David.
Robbie Forsyth was a GP in Beauly. Adam Syme was a GP in Inverness and was cycling in memory of his wife Karen, who died of MND last October.
Catriona Forsyth is Robbie's daughter and a junior doctor. Robert Cartwright is from Invergordon.
More details on their fundraising efforts, and a link to donate, can be found here.
While you’re here…
If you value our content, why not take advantage of a time-limited offer to get online access to all of our Highland News and Media content for a full 12 months for just £10? That includes sister titles like the Inverness Courier, Northern Times and John o’ Groat Journal all accessed through a handy app and available as easy to read e-editions. To find out more and subscribe, use the promo code HECTORMACKENZIE here. Look for Digital + annual and follow the prompts. Thank you for reading and for your support.
