Cycle from Dublin to Nerja

Alisdair Anderson is taking on an incredible challenge this summer. Below he explains what he is doing and why…

“My partner, Ruth Staines, passed away on April 3rd 2021, after a short but defiant battle with Motor Neuron Disease. In her memory, I’m cycling 2,750km from Dublin to Nerja, Spain to raise vital funds for the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association. This will be a 2,750km journey, and I’ll be doing it solo (unless anyone wants to join along the way!).

The Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association provides care and support to people with MND, their families, friends and carers. Without them, we would have been lost. The support they provided to Ruth throughout her illness allowed her to live a much more comfortable life. From mobility and wheelchairs, nursing, homecare support, counselling – these were all critical services we depended on. They also provided Ruth with Eye Gaze technology, which allowed Ruth to send messages, flick through Tick Tok and of course play Candy Crush – all without the use of her hands. I can’t thank them enough for the speed in which they moved, as time sadly was never on Ruthies side. All of these services cost money, however, and I’m aiming to do my bit to support these services by raising vital funds for IMNDA. 

The 2,750km journey will start in Oxmantown Road on the Friday 14th May, where Ruth has lived since her return to Dublin. I’ll head straight down to Baltinglass for the first leg spend the day with Ruths family before setting off for Europe. On Sunday morning, I will travel to Wexford, with Mark (Ruths brother) and Kev (Ruths close friend) kindly accompanying me for this part of the journey. Then it’s the ferry to Wales, cycle down through southern England, followed by another ferry across to northern France. I’ll travel down past Bordeaux and through (or over!) the Pyrenees. Then I’ll head straight for the Spanish East coast, where hopefully the fresh sea air will keep me cool! Eventually, the aim is to end up in Nerja on the southeast coast of Spain around mid July…fingers crossed!

I’m asking that you all dig deep in your pockets to donate for this amazing cause. All donations go straight to the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association. I’ll keep updating the page and you’ll even be able to track me live so I can’t cheat”.

To donate and for more information please visit Alisdair’s Just Giving page by clicking here.