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Man's cycling challenge with multiple sclerosis

Katie Waple
BBC News
Allen Sinclair
BBC News, Berkshire
BBC Dominic Shadbolt sitting on a semi-recumbent trike. He wears white and blue cycling attire including a helmet with sunglasses on them. The trike has a rear storage area and a flag while a clear plastic cover shields his feet on the pedals.BBC
Dominic Shadbolt will be cycling across Canada to raise $1m for Multiple Sclerosis

A man with multiple sclerosis (MS) is about to undertake a feat of physical and mental endurance.

Dominic Shadbolt, 53, lives near Wallingford, Oxfordshire is planning to ride a specially adapted road bike 8,000 km (5,000 miles) across Canada.

He is due to set off next month and is aiming to raise both awareness and a million dollars for research and support for the condition.

Mr Shadbolt said: "I might fail, I don't plan to fail but the MS might just knock on the door and say, 'I'm sorry it's just not happening today'."

MS is a disease where the body's own immune cells attack the brain and spinal cord, leading to symptoms like muscle stiffness and problems walking and talking.

There are more than 130,000 people living with MS in the UK.

Dominic Shadbolt sitting in his trike, wearing a helmet and glasses.
Dominic Shadbolt said he likes to set himself challenges

Mr Shadbolt was diagnosed with MS 33 years ago but he said he is "fortunate" to still be able to ride.

He will be riding a trike from the east to the west coast of Canada, starting at Halifax and finishing at Vancouver.

He said: "The thing with MS is it's chronic which means it lasts forever, it's incurable, there is no cure, and it's gradually disabling.

"I like to set myself challenges. I also want other people with MS to know that it's quite possible to do, hard things."

He said: "The reality of MS is you can get very tired very easily.

"I really need to control everything, if I'm suddenly feeling dreadful, don't be an idiot and press on, because you'll pay far more more later.

"It's fatigue which many people with MS will know about, so I'll ride for six days, I'll have one day off, minimum."

"We're basing everything around four months and doing 80 km a day," he added.

Mr Shadbolt has a YouTube channel called 'Ride Canada 4 MS' which he said "there'll be daily posts, with a bit of luck, as long as I can get mobile signal."

"There'll be times, I'm sure I'll want to quit, want to throw the towel in and there'll be other times when it's going to be beautiful and the scenery will be amazing and I won't want to be anywhere else," he added.

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