An East Lothian man has embarked on the first leg of a marathon 750-mile cycle journey in a bid to raise funds for audio books for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Ken Reid’s trip by tandem, taking in all four UK capital cities and Dublin, will also mark the 30th anniversary of himself going blind as a young man.
Ken (57) was diagnosed with the degenerative eye condition retinitis pigmentosa in 1986. “There was no history of this condition in my family,and we had no idea how to deal with it,” he said. “The condition is untreatable, so the doctors then had little more to say to me than to say I was going blind, and there was no-one else for me to talk to!
“So began my journey into sight loss. The prognosis was correct, I have gone blind. The rest of the journey has been a real one of discovery, with many highs and lows along the way.”
Since then, Ken has gone on to be one of Scotland’s most persuasive ambassadors for the needs of blind and partially sighted people.
He was waved off yesterday from outside the Scottish National Gallery by Lord Provost Donald Wilson and supporters, accompanied part of the way by Paralympian cyclist Laura Cluxton, who has the same sight loss condition as Ken.
On leaving Edinburgh Ken will cycle to Cairnryan, then ferry to Belfast from where he will cycle down to Dublin. From there he will take another ferry to Holyhead for Cardiff, and on to London. The trip should take around two weeks in all.
“The sight loss journey isn’t an easy one, and I don’t intend that my cycle journey should be easy either”, said Ken “I will be riding a tandem, sitting on the back seat, and helped by a relay of pilots. They will navigate us through the parts of the country they will be familiar with.
“By making this journey, I want to increase awareness of the journey that more than 100 people across the UK start every day towards sight loss.”
Ken is also doing the epic ride in aid of sight loss charity RNIB’s ‘talking books’ audio-library – an absolute lifeline for those who can’t read print, he insists.
An avid reader himself, Ken said: “Without this vital service a whole world of literature would be denied to blind people, but it costs RNIB £2,500 to produce each ‘talking book’. If I can raise £10 for each mile of my journey that’s three new books for adults or children.”
RNIB’s ‘talking books’ library, which began in 1935, contains more than 21,000 titles, making it the largest unabridged audio collection of books in the UK, with a readership of over 40,000 subscribers across the country. Over 8,000 RNIB ‘talking books’ are issued every day, and over two million every year. The youngest ‘talking book’ member is six years old, while the oldest are over 100!
John Lauder, national director of cycling charity Sustrans Scotland, said: “We would like to wish Ken the best of luck on his cycle journey to all four capital cities this summer and hope he has a fantastic experience.”
You can support Ken through his Just Giving page at
https://www.justgiving.com/
or Text to donate – CCLE75 £5 – to telephone number 70070.
Follow Ken’s progress on his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cycle750
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