Cyclist rides 175 miles in one day in memory of Micah Gillings
Jon Meddows, is cycling 175 miles today (Friday 16) along the Guided Busway from St Ives to Cambridge to raise money for the Marfan Trust. - Credit: Jon Meddows
Jon Meddows, 41, from Cambridge, is cycling 175 miles today (July 16) along the Guided Busway from St Ives to Cambridge, to raise money for The Marfan Trust.
Jon, who started cycling at 5am this morning and will not finish until 10pm tonight, will ride the length of the Guided Busway, seven times.
Jon will be wearing a white t-shirt with Marfan Trust written on and is encouraging people to give him a wave if they see him.
He is doing this in memory of his work colleague, Micah Gillings, who passed away last year at the age of only 19.
Micah Gillings, 19 died from Marfan Syndrome last year. - Credit: Vanessa Skinner
Micah died of the rare genetic condition Marfan syndrome, which affects one in 100,000 people.
Jon felt a strong need to do this, he said: “The length I am cycling is from Cambridge to Manchester, Manchester is where Micah was supposed to going to university, before he passed away.
“I had never heard about Marfan syndrome until what happened to Micah, it brought it more to light.
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“I am friends with Micah’s family and everyone was talking about him at work.
“It was then I decided to do a bike ride in memory of him and to raise money for the Marfan Trust.
“I have been training leading up to this challenge for about three or four months and have never done anything like this before."
Jon Meddows is cycling 175 miles in one day to raise money for the Marfan Trust. - Credit: Jon Meddows
Marfan syndrome is a disorder that affects the body's connective tissue, which provides strength and flexibility to the main structures in the body such as bones, ligaments, muscles, blood vessels and heart valves.
It can often causes a range of abnormalities.
The abnormalities often go undetected meaning that those affected may not even know there is a problem.
Individuals with Marfan syndrome usually have characteristics such as being tall and slender, with long fingers and toes.
If you would like to find out more about the Marfan Trust, go to: www.marfantrust.org/
To donate on Jon’s just giving page go to: www.justgiving.com and search Jon Meddows.
Plamena Rafailova also raised funds for Micah last year.
