Introducing our next Cyclist - Michael Farquhar
MICHAEL STORY
In my day job, I'm a programme manager in financial services. I deliver complex change into large organisations. I've done that over a 30 year career, but I currently work in Edinburgh.
Home is in Bonnyrigg with my wife Sarah, though I also have three grown-up children.
I wanted to get involved in this because we've always had an interest in the fundraising activity for Doddie. We met him a few times in his hosting days and also when he was selling his books. I guess he was pretty much the same age as me - just a couple of months younger.
We joined Rob Wainwright and the rest of the guys coming back on their ride from Cardiff.
I get fairly regular contact with Ian Barr and we chat through these things quite a lot and he had this idea and said: 'Let's do it'. I just thought - life's too short! It just really caught my imagination. The more Ian talked about it,the more I liked it. He's quite persuasive.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU?
I did a small speech at church after the rides, after I came back. As I was growing up, I became aware of motor neuron disease. I grew up in a small village in the north of Scotland called Birkhead. There was a guy in the village who was friendly with my dad and who just had the same sort of slow progressive immobility, then becoming wheelchair bound and we did a fundraiser back then
There was a fundraising event in Birkhead that had just been started the year before and it was a Boxing Day swim. So you swim across the harbour mouth, harbour channel, on one of the coldest days of the year. So I did that as a 16 or 17 year-old. It just struck me with, I think when I became more aware of Doddie, that nothing much had changed really in that time. This is not necessarily incurable, it's just under invested in.
That really rung true with me. A neighbour was diagnosed less than two years ago and he is going to do some treatment. He is hugely grateful for anybody doing anything to help. It's much closer than you think. If you reach out, it's much closer than you think.
MAIN CHALLENGES ON THE TRIP
Sleep, sleep can be my biggest challenge. I can be a bit grumpy without sleep. When we came back in February from Cardiff, I think I did get quite grumpy after a day or two because you don't sleep an awful lot. Well, we didn't then. I'm hopeful of more sleep on this occasion. The first night of sleep, it felt like an hour to two hours sleep. It just didn't feel like that much at all. I slept somewhere in North Wales or sort of mid-North Wales in a sort of school gym hall. There's lots of crash mats as you might imagine in a school gym hall. Also really thin ones about an inch, inch and a half thick. I seem to have had two snorers either side of me. It's shocking. I think this feels slightly more organised in terms of how we're going to go on the road and approach the four teams that cycle. There's more methodology and a clearer approach to more technical things than we thought of before. But sleep's a big thing but if I don't get sleep I'll be really grumpy. I'm not the best character when I'm sleep deprived.
ULTIMATE AIM
I think there's two things we've stated in our team; to raise awareness and raise funds. I think it'll make us feel good and we'll have made a difference. I think that's a huge thing and I can look at our neighbour and hopefully he'll still be around. I think he's in good health and I spoke to him recently so I know that'll be appreciated because it's something I get enjoyment from, helping others.
This is quite a big powerful way to do it - even though I was initially thinking it was too big a task and too big a job, I got convinced otherwise. And it's just a former team, it's a good long project, so I'm enjoying the development of it and working out the right approach and bringing together all different aspects and bringing together the team as well. By the end of it, I think I'll be an awful lot fitter than I am. I might lose a couple of pounds.
You meet some great people and make good friendships as well. We've already established that with the Anglo-Scottish team.
Humour will get us through a lot of trying situations, because I think it's a focus on something that's bigger than yourself. You don't get too many opportunities like this. I know there are some friends who would like to be doing it, but are just not in the right place at the right time. I guess I was around the right place when Ian Barr and Rob decided to kick off their next crazy endeavour. It's just a good way of showing support for that MND community.
BIGGEST CHARACTERS ON THE TRIP
I think we've certainly Ian and Rob themselves, who are two big characters who have a lot of experience of undertaking these activities. I think Kevin Greig is probably another one. So when I said it was a bit ratty after having a lack of sleep, they borrowed and hid my gel seats for the bike because the narrow bike seat is not really the most comfortable so I had one of these. They managed to hide it then lose it so it was Kevin Greig that was up to mischief there and he's on the team again this year. I think he's one of the drivers but he also wants to have a go at cycling so I'll swap him and let him have some turns on the wheel. I think he's a good character, good fun. I think it's humor that will keep you going.
