From his spare room on Islay, David Brodie is hard at work training for a 520km cycle from London to Paris in aid of Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA).
At the time of writing (three months prior to the challenge), David has raised over £2,600 for SCAA – just over half of his £5,000 target.
David, 62, is excited for the challenge, which takes place over three days from 13-16 June, although he admits that until recent months it has been around 40 years since he did any cycling.
“During lockdown I got tied in with a cycling community and events company called Hotchillee,” he reflects. “I started hosting some virtual whisky tastings for them once a month, and it really ignited my enthusiasm for cycling again which is when I started doing indoor training with a bike in the house.”
Seven months ago, David – a tour guide at Bunnahabhain Distillery on Islay – received a message asking if he would be interested in securing one of the first places in the Hotchillee London to Paris cycle for 2024.
“My wife Heather suggested that I raise some funds in the process and make it worthwhile for others as well as my own personal gratification,” he explains.
“I decided to support SCAA as it’s a national charity and it serves Islay. We are more than aware of the need for the air ambulance service in Scotland, and it’s a great comfort to know it’s available for our community…it’s close to my heart.”
David’s wife relied on the service of an air ambulance over 11 years ago after suffering a stroke in the early morning, and unfortunately once again only two years ago when she had a heart attack on Islay. His son-in-law was also airlifted when it was confirmed he needed a kidney transplant.
Raising funds for SCAA has helped motivate David throughout his training and preparation for his London-Paris cycle which will require a gruelling distance of 100 miles per day.
“I’ve done various sponsored walks in the past, but I’ve never taken on a challenge of this nature or magnitude,” he admits.
“My only difficulty is that Islay is not the most hospitable place to cycle outdoors in the winter. The island is also quite flat, and it’s been a long time since I’ve done any serious hill climbs on the bike. The physical exertion that’s going to be required for this challenge is substantial.
“To achieve the levels of training required means I need to spend a lot of time training on the indoor bike in the spare bedroom. But that’s okay, I just hook up the tunes and away I go!”.
The father of two is looking forward to the “sense of achievement” after completing the challenge in June.
David’s fundraising efforts help to ensure SCAA continue to deliver expert paramedic care to Scotland’s Island communities, including Islay.
