Care home resident visits 90 care homes during 1,400 mile bikeathon around England

Terry Keen, who lives in an Anchor retirement housing scheme, has embarked on a 1,400 mile bike ride through England, collecting signatures on a card he plans to deliver to Buckingham Palace for the Queen's 90th Birthday.

His journey which began in March involves stopping at a total of 90 care homes, starting at England's northernmost town, Berwick-upon-Tweed and ending nearly three months later in Helston, Cornwall.

Terry, who has lived at Willow Glade Anchor retirement home for five years and turns 70 during the 57-day bike ride, wants to inspire older people to get fit.

He is no stranger to endurance challenges having over the years completed 27 marathons across the world, cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats and completed a 1,000 mile cycling trip to Budapest. “I want to show people that age is all in the mind. I’m 69 and I’m cycling 1,400 miles, and I hope to inspire others to overcome their own challenges in life. It is so important to keep moving and to keep active,” said Terry.

He talked to carehome.co.uk about how he is coping with his latest challenge, revealing that his biggest problem has been his GPS failing, saying: “I’ve had problems with the route particularly finding some Anchor properties but that’s due to the GPS failing.

Difficult moments

“There have been some difficult moments, though, on many dangerous roads. You just have to be careful. But I’m coping well despite that and the awful weather. I’ve experienced all types of weather. In my days on the road so far, I have had four reasonably good days with sunshine so I haven’t had to wear my jacket for warmth or to protect me against the rain.”

So far on his bike ride, he has had to battle against heavy rain, strong wind, snow, frost, and even horizontal hailstones.

“The hardest bits have been when I’ve had a long haul and I’m running late which is when the mileage doesn’t seem to go down despite pedalling faster. But trucks racing by inches away from me on hundreds of roads have been scary. It gets so bad that sometimes you just have to get off the road and push the bike. Every cyclist has horror stories and I’m no different.”

During Terry’s journey, he has had 22 people join him at various points along the route, including his sons for a leg of the journey, “which was a great experience”.

“Most of the time I am on the road on my own but I stop at Anchor properties throughout the day to bring the card for residents to sign and join the many parties that have been organised, so it certainly isn’t a lonely experience.”

Training

Prior to taking on the challenge, he trained every day to ensure he would be physically fit enough.

“I’ve always kept active and so in the run up to the challenge, I kept at it, going out about five days a week to just move - at a pace - for a few hours. In those sessions I cycled, jogged and climbed hills as well as doing some Qi Gong. I always feel good in the outdoors. I'm not really a gym person although they do have their uses. I consider that it's important to keep active as opposed to keeping fit, which can sound scary to many older people and which might put them off simply keeping active.” His plan is to cycle 1,500 miles in 49 days which excludes his rest day on Sundays. The daily mileage ranges depending on how many Anchor properties he visits a day, the terrain and whether he is cycling in a city.

“I generally cycle about 30 miles each day but this can reduce to about 20 if I have four care homes to visit in a day, it’s hilly terrain or if I get stuck in stationary traffic in a city. The most I have cycled in one day was 44 miles from Sunderland to Bishop Auckland while the shortest daily distance will be 19 miles when I cycle in Devon where it’s very hilly terrain.”

'Superstar'

Terry hopes to finish his bike ride on 9 May and plans to then relax with his wife Jacqui and the rest of the family. His wife Jacqui said: “The whole family thinks he is a superstar! And have been following the tour closely.”

Terry decided to incorporate his bikeathon with getting care home residents to sign a card to the Queen because he felt “it is so important that older people living with Anchor can get involved in celebrating the Queen’s birthday rather than just watching it on TV.

“I admire the Queen for all her hard work and for being such a wonderful ambassador for the country. I wanted to give something special to her on her 90th birthday so thought why not a birthday card signed by older people from across the country.”

'Great example of living life to the full'

Jane Ashcroft, Anchor’s chief executive, called Terry’s bike ride “a great example of living life to the full in retirement, a message we are passionate about at Anchor” and said: “I know that Terry is incredibly active, and this is going to be a special achievement. Our residents and my colleagues are fully behind the Tour de Terry because it’s a great way for them to feel part of the celebrations to mark the Queen’s birthday.”

Terry is raising money for Grandparents Plus; a charity that supports grandparents who care for their grandchildren, including those who are raising grandchildren full-time because their parents are unable to look after them. According to Grandparents Plus, more than 150,000 children are looked after by kinship carers in England today.

Lucy Peake, chief executive of Grandparents Plus, said: “We're delighted that Terry is shining a light on this issue and raising funds for Grandparents Plus so we can offer the advice, information and support that really makes a difference.”

“Parents up and down the country rely on grandparents to provide childcare and many say they couldn't afford to work without it. At the same time, it is grandparents who often step in to support and raise children when there are serious difficulties within families. One in 74 children in England are brought up by relatives because their parents are unable to look after them, and more than half are brought up by grandparents.”

Anyone wanting to donate to Grandparents Plus or find out about Tour de Terry can go to www.anchor.org.uk/Terry or follow him on Twitter with the hashtag: #TourDeTerry.