THREE Helensburgh woman are uniting for a good cause as they attempt a 400-mile cycle down south to raise money for charity.
Joanna Martin, Lesley Serpell and Cara Wilson are taking on the challenge in support of Marjory Daldry, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) last year.
The group have already raised nearly £4,000 and their feat will be made all the more remarkable given that Joanna - who is paralysed from the lower chest down - will take part on a handbike.
Linda Wilson, whose daughter Cara will celebrate her 21st birthday just after the challenge, praised the determination of the trio in signing up to the cycle from Helensburgh to Cheltenham, where Marjory now lives.
She said: “Cara is up for it, she’s not really done any cycling before and I would’ve liked to have done it with them, but I’ve lost my good bike now to Cara as she’s taken it over and absolutely loved it.
“Joanna is really poorly just now, but she is very much someone who we are all inspired by, there’s no end to her motivation and encouragement.
“Seeing how much has been raised so far is a massive boost to everyone and there has been a lot of local support.”
A fund-raising page set up by Joanna, 57, explains the heart-warming reasons behind the challenge to raise money for research into MND, which currently has no effective treatment or cure.
On the page, Joanna said: “My very good friend Marjory was diagnosed with MND a year ago.
“We started nursing on the same day 40 years ago this September.
“Although our lives took us on very different paths; Marjory marrying young and having three great boys, and myself choosing to travel and work abroad for a while, we still kept in contact and met whenever we could.
“My life then changed completely in 2005 when an accident left me with a spinal injury and paralysed from the lower chest down.
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“I could not even begin to mention the mental and physical support that Marjory and her family have given to me over the years.
“Marjory and her family have done various fundraising events for MND research over the last year and I know how important it is to them that no other families have to go through what they are going through just now, so when another good friend Lesley suggested we do a fundraising event for Marjory I did not have to be asked twice.
“The first suggestion was sky diving which I put a stop to straight away!”
The 400-mile trip began from Joanna’s house in Helensburgh on Thursday and the group hope to complete the challenge in seven-10 days, cycling around 50 miles each day.
You can donate to the cause by going to uk.virginmoneygiving.com and searching for Joanna Martin.
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