A WOMAN living with Alzheimer’s has completed a charity cycle ride around London, raising awareness that it is possible to live well with dementia.
Frome resident, Dorothy-Anne Bryant, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s three years ago, also raised over £1,600 for the Alzheimer’s Society, smashing her target of £900.
Dorothy-Anne took part in the RideLondon event last month, cycling 46 miles around the capital – a change to the original plan to cycle 100 miles, but this was due to bad weather conditions and a late start.
“I was the tubby swat always picked second to last for teams at school,” said Dorthy-Anne, “but as I stormed up The Mall on my secondhand mountain bike to complete 46 miles round London I felt myself an athlete at last – at 73 years old.
“Because I was given a late start time, I had to ride 27 miles in just over 2 hours to qualify to continue for the full 100 miles. My bike was heavy, the road was crowded, the weather was wet, and getting my wet things off for a comfort stop took a long time. I missed the deadline by half an hour.
“After all my training I was confident of my ability to complete the offered alternative, 46 miles without physical or mental stress. I was concentrating on avoiding potholes and other cyclists, but still had time to enjoy memories as I went through familiar streets.
“Whom should I thank? The NHS mental health services who diagnosed Alzheimer’s dementia three years ago, so I could give up committee work and get out more. And the doctor who encouraged me to continue cycling; the DVLA who withdrew my driving licence which forced me to use my bike for independent shopping and visiting; a group of friends who cycled around Somerset with me over the last few months; a couple who gave us hospitality 12 miles from the start of the RideLondon event on 29th July; the RideLondon disability support who persuaded my husband he could drive me to the start and kept me sane when we arrived. This was needed as it was only as we got to the start that I realised I had left my backpack containing my vital event tag on the bedroom floor; my husband found his way around the closed streets back to fetch my tag and got it to me just in time. As he departed on this almost impossible errand, I had time to consult my phone and see the vicar’s wife was praying for me. I remembered many others who were doing the same.
“There are many others whose support I needed and appreciated, from my family to the marshal who picked me up and got me going when I fell.
“I now have a splendid medal and a level of fitness beyond what I ever thought possible. You can live well with dementia but you do need a lot of wonderful people to be there to help.”
“To hear more about my dementia journey go to http://frome.fm/programmes/ talk/meandering and click on ‘11 July 2018 – Meandering through Dementia Revisited’.”