Jo Gregory to take on charity cycling challenge to help fund life saving heart research

Jo Gregory and Mike Gregory at the Prudential Ride London in 2016

Rochdale fundraiser, Jo Gregory, is taking on an adrenaline-fuelled bike ride for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to help fund life saving research, in memory of her husband, Mike Gregory, who died unexpectedly in November 2015 from a heart attack aged just 58.

He died just months after participating in the very same event.

Jo, 55, will be a member of Team MG, and will take on the Prudential Ride London – Surrey on 30 July to raise money for the BHF’s life saving research. She will be cycling alongside her children Siobhan, Ciaran and Aoife and family friends Brian O'Gorman and Yara Ali Adib. Around 500 cyclists take part for the BHF each year, raising over £300,000 in the fight against heart disease.

Mike, a pain consultant, was playing squash when he started noticing symptoms of a heart attack. Going into cardiac arrest in the car on the way to hospital, Jo administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the roadside, and although he managed to be revived, his heart stopped again in the ambulance and he died in the same hospital he worked at.

Each year, 30,000 people in the UK have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but the survival rate is less than one in 10.

Jo said: “A doctor for over 30 years, Mike knew the symptoms of a heart attack, but never did I think that as we calmly made our way to the hospital, he would have a cardiac arrest. He was healthy, active and worked full time as a consultant at the Royal Oldham Hospital.

“Just months before we had celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary with the family skiing holiday. In July we also completed the Prudential Ride London – Surrey in just under eight hours. I’m just grateful that I was with him at the Royal Oldham Hospital so I got the chance to say goodbye.

“We always said that when we retired, we would spend more time cycling around the British countryside but sadly that will never happen.

"It’s terrifying how life as you know it can change in an instant.

"Heart disease really can strike anyone at any time and it’s only through research that we can end its devastation.

“Mike would have been 60 this year and I know he would have wanted to do the ride again to see if he could have beaten his time. So this year, alongside my children and some family friends, I’m cycling the same course to keep his memory alive. I’m sure he will be extremely proud.”

The Prudential Ride London-Surrey takes riders through the London Olympic 2012 cycle route, all on closed roads through central London and the Surrey countryside. 

The ballot for the Prudential Ride London-Surrey cycling event is now open. To ride for the British Heart Foundation, visit bhf.org.uk/ridelondon100 or contact the events team at events@bhf.org.uk or 0845 130 8663.

To sponsor Team MG, visit https://www.justgiving.com/companyteams/MGteam