Kevin was born with congentital heart disease and in 2012 his health took a turn for the worse. Needing a heart transplant, he spent a year on the waiting list until a match was found.
Kevin discovered that his donor had died in a cycling accident prompting him to cycle in his donors memory. Just one week after surgery Kevin set about doing seven minutes on an exercise bike for the seven days of his new life.
With a friend who tragically lost her husband after a lung transplant, Emma Osborne, Kevin set up The Transplant Association Charity which aims to encourage people to sign the organ donor register.
The charity is hosting a number of cycling events to raise funds. The first major event being a 342 mile bike ride starting on July 17th at Ashton Gate and ending at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle on July 20th, where Kevin had his transplant. Up to 60 riders will be setting off from what Kevin describes as the “heart of the city”.
Kevin got together with several other riders this weekend to train for his upcoming bike ride:
“Twelve of us got together on Sunday, we did a 70-mile ride, it was a big confidence booster, I felt really, really good and could have gone again for another 70 miles!”
Kevin is being put through his paces by an arduous training regime devised by Professor Greg Whyte:
“All the training that Professor Greg Whyte has been putting me through, tortuous as it has been, is obviously paying off.
“The ride is to raise awareness and get people registered as organ donors. Still today, one in three people die waiting for transplants and that’s not right.”
To donate or to sign up to ride or as a virtual rider click here.
