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Cyclist to complete John O'Groats to Land's End ride a year after abandoning due to heart attack

Berkshire man detarmined to complete journey... but his wife has mixed feelings about it

A Berkshire cyclist is preparing to complete the 900 mile John O’Groats to Land’s End ride, getting back in the saddle a year to the day after he was forced to abandon last June when he suffered a heart attack on the tenth day of his 13-day journey.

Tom Patterson, aged 67 and from Newbury, had completed 711 miles of the trip when he collapsed at the top of Naish Hill near Bristol. He was given CPR by a friend before being taken to Bristol Royal Infirmary, where he was placed in a medically induced coma, reports the BBC.

He remained at the hospital for a number of weeks and two months after his heart attack had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator placed in his shoulder.

"If something untoward does happen it will shock me back," he explained.

Mr Patterson’s wife, Lin, has mixed feelings about him getting back on his bike to finish the end-to-end ride.

"I'm not necessarily 100% behind it but I understand why it has to be done,” she revealed. "I will be glad when it's the 23rd of June and it's over."

The BBC added that consultant psychiatrist Raj Persaud believed that the cyclist wanting to finish what he started a "good thing to do," saying “It's important to encourage patients that have experienced a traumatic event not to let it stop them."

Mr Patterson himself said: "With the support I've got and with the level of commitment that I feel towards completing it, I'm sure that I'll do it with no problem."
 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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tomp734444 | 12 years ago
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It was me and I would like to correct a couple of things which were wrong in the report.

1. I had a Cardiac Arrest, not a Heart Attacik. The two things a quite different. A CA is also known as sudden cardiac death and comes without warning due to an "electrical"' faullt, whereas a heart attack is "plumbing" and is the result of narrowing of the blood vessels in the heart leading to a reduction in the supply of oxygenated blood.

2. It happened last September and I was in Bristol Royal Infirmary/Bristol Heart Institute for 2 weeks before being fitted with an ICD, now known as Clever Trevor.

I was unable to do anything strenuous for about seven weeks and then gradually started to exercise and did a few bike rides.

I am looking forward to tomorrow, when my son and I set-off from the very spot where I collapsed to ride the 210 miles to Land's End.

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WolfieSmith | 12 years ago
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'I'm not necessarily 100% behind it" sums up many a spouse's attitude to cycling endeavor. Normally in our house it's when we are planning a family holiday and I start looking at road routes around the destination on Google Earth and getting the bike box out of the attic..  4

Best of luck to Tom. Important to finish.

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brakesmadly | 12 years ago
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If he had just climbed Naish Hill I'm not surprised! Good luck Tom

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