The
Cardiomyopathy
Association

Plucky 18-year-old Emily Mayo has cycled the entire length of Britain on her own for the CMA, raising around £800.

Emily was due to do the 1,040 mile trip with two friends, but they had to pull out.

However, she said she was so impressed with the work of the charity that she was determined to go ahead.

The trip from Land’s End to John O’Groats in June and July took her 18 days, averaging 60 miles a day with three days rest.

She said: “The first few days were quite hard as the weather was dreadful and so were the hills. Cycling from Penzance to Launceston in Cornwall was particularly hard as the rain bucketed down and I got absolutely drenched. 

“But when I got into Scotland the hills seemed fine. Never having been in that country before, the scenery and atmosphere were fantastic and this was definitely the best part of the trip. Fortunately I didn’t get any real injuries and the bike was fine – I didn’t even have a puncture.”

Emily, who is on a gap year after taking A Levels at Colchester County High School and hopes to go on to university to study medicine, stayed at youth hostels and the homes of friends and family on the way.

She said: “Because I was on my own, my mum drove behind me in Scotland and my step dad met me for a couple of days in the north of England. But all my friends and family sent hundreds of text messages of support each day and BBC Radio Essex interviewed me along the way. People I met on the route were very friendly, offered lots of advice about what to expect and occasionally sponsored me.”

A keen runner with Witham Running Club but not a long distance cyclist, Emily trained for five months around her A’Level studies and exams.

She added: “I really enjoyed the ride. Every day was a new challenge but thinking of it in bite-sized chunks helped a lot.”

Other members of her family also support the CMA, including Emily’s aunt  and uncle Helen and Gareth Scott who have run the London Marathon for the charity several times.

Picture courtesy of Essex County Newspapers