Real stories

Taking on a trio of cycling challenges after a life-changing accident

Rob Bryant’s mum, Maggie is living with mixed dementia in a care home. And now, he's is taking on the RideCymru cycle as the last part in a trio of challenges to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society, just a year after a serious accident.

Rob and his mum’s dementia story

“My mum, Maggie, is a remarkable woman,” says Rob. “She had a tough life and opportunities were rare for her and her siblings. But she has been a voice of constant encouragement for me – telling me how I could do anything if I tried hard enough.

“About 10 years ago, we started to notice changes in Mum. My sister and I accompanied her for many medical appointments and eventually she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, in around 2017.

“Now, her short-term memory has gone almost entirely, so conversations are repeated constantly. She can get confused and irritable - she struggles to remember her family."

"It is so sad to see someone who was so pivotal and inspirational for me, in such a vulnerable state.

“A few months ago in a very brief moment of clarity she said to me "If you have no memory, you have no past.... If you have no past then you have no future. That was very poignant for me."

It’s hard to see the ones you love become shadows of their former selves.

A life-changing accident

“In June 2024, I was in a traffic accident. While I was riding a motorbike, I was hit from the side and pushed into the road of oncoming traffic - into the path of a lorry. The accident mangled my left leg. 

“Muscle and fat was torn away from the bone – some of it is gone permanently. I spent a long time in surgery. I had PTSD as I can still remember being pinned under the motorbike, as the lorry approached me.

“I know the benefit of a goal-oriented focus, so as part of my recovery, I chose to cycle hundreds of miles across three famous cycle races in three different countries. It was this that led me to take on RideCymru challenge.

“I thought of the gifts that my Mum had given me, in terms of confidence and belief, and I determined that I would do these races to tackle the condition that has impacted her so much.

“I have always been a regular cyclist, but for the first six months after the accident, I could not ride. The three challenges represent milestones in my recovery.

“The first event in Sweden was 315km in one day. That was to build up my capacity for distance and endurance.

“The second one was across the continental divide in the USA - 118 miles at altitude and over 10880 feet of climbing, so that built up strength.

“Finally, in Wales between September 11 and 14, I will attempt RideCymru. 250 miles including 22,000 feet of climbing. It’s longer and hillier than either of the other two. I think RideCymru will really test me because to go uphill at pace, you need power, and I am worried the permanent muscle loss in my left leg could really limit me.”

My training has been disciplined and gradual. Over the winter, I focused on cycling only in my garage away from traffic. I needed to get my fitness back. And over time, it is returning.”

Rob’s message to other dementia fundraisers

To all the riders out there, you can do amazing things if you put your mind to it. 

"New challenges really help people grow. Doing cycling events like these means you get to see new parts of the UK, do new activities and meet new people. Keeping fit and building new neural pathways in your brain lessens the chance of us getting dementia.

“To borrow a tagline from the sports event business running RideCymru, I would say to people ‘more is in you’.”