2018 bicycle tours
2018 wasn’t a particularly good year for Garry on the cycling front or on any other front for that matter!
Towards the end of 2017, Garry was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in his right hip, and needed to have an operation to replace it!
Although having osteoarthritis that wasn’t going to stop Garry from getting on his bike and cycling off somewhere, they were just not of his usual length or duration! In fact, all of Garry’s tours this year were the sort that he would usually have done over a weekend and not considered of as a tour in past years! But things were different now!
His first ride out of the year, in March, saw him go to the Isle of Wight and Hampshire. A poultry distance, compared to Garry’s typical rides, of 164-miles!
Garry’s second ride out took him to Swanage and London, this time managing to cover over 200-miles.
His third ride of the year took him to the scene of a recent chemical attack, Salisbury! This time, covering just over 160-miles!
It was now July, and Garry was in excruciating pain from his hip! But he was still determined to go away, so he headed for the New Forest and the Isle of Wight.
He was struggling so much now that it was a real effort to cycle 20-miles in a day! In fact, over the five days of the tour, Garry could only manage to cycle 150-miles, and sixty of those were on the first day!
On returning home from the Isle of Wight Garry’s pain was so great, they admitted him into the hospital, where things went from bad to worse! And within a week of being taken into hospital. Garry was fighting for his life after contracting sepsis! Find out more here.