- Widow moves Cadent supervisor to tackle 100 miles’ course
- After raising £1000 for Alzheimer’s Society Nat’s back in the saddle
- Twenty-five miles’ training sessions start at 05.00
A moving story about a man’s Alzheimer’s Disease prompted Nathaniel Street to cycle 100 miles for charity.
Nathaniel, a Cadent network supervisor, decided to jump on his bike after visiting a recently widowed customer. She told him how her husband – and several close friends – had suffered from the condition.
Until then keen cyclist Nathaniel, 30, had enjoyed ambling through the countryside near his home in Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire.
But, he was so touched by the woman’s description of the illness, and its devastating effect on sufferers and their families, that he promptly signed up for the Great Shakespeare ride. He completed that earlier this month, raising £1000 for the Alzheimer’s Society.
Nathaniel said: “When the lady told me about her late husband and his battle with Alzheimer’s, I just knew I had to do something. Her story spurred me on. It was the first time I’d tackled anything like a 100 miles’ course. It was certainly tough, but well worth the effort.”
Now he’s back in the saddle for another gruelling charity bike ride. This time it’s the 102 miles Mad Summer Hare ride looping through Warwickshire, Worcestershire and dipping into the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire.
It has four climbs, including the mile-long Dover’s Hill.
To make sure he’s up to scratch Nathaniel has been training hard for the September 3
rd event. He’s up most days at 05.00 and rattles off 25 miles cycling before starting work. And he trains twice a week with his club, the Dynamic Rides CC in Hockley Heath.
Nathaniel said: “I love cycling, and if my joy helps others less fortunate then it’s a tribute to the lady who gave me the inspiration to do it for charity.”
Britain’s biggest gas distribution network Cadent recently launched a two-year fundraising partnership with Alzheimer’s Society to raise £100,000 for people living with dementia.Its employees voted for Alzheimer’s Society as Cadent’s chosen charity.
Over the next 24 months, the company’s 5,000-strong workforce has pledged to bake, cycle, run, climb and even skydive in a bid to generate funds for the estimated 850,000 people in the UK affected by dementia.
In addition, the company is pledging to make 1,000 employees ‘Dementia Friends’. ‘Dementia Friends’ information sessions help people to understand better the challenges faced by those living with the condition, and the small ways in which they can help.