Epic bicycle ride in memory of husband

JO and Mike Gregory

A MUM is preparing to take on a 100-mile bike ride in memory of her husband who suddenly passed away just months after they took part in the event together in 2015.

Jo Gregory (55) will take on the Prudential Ride London ­- Surrey on July 30 to raise money for the British Heart Foundation after her husband Mike Gregory had a heart attack and passed away in November 2015, aged 58.

Just months earlier the pair had completed the event in a time of seven hours and 47 minutes and had also celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary with a family skiing holiday.

Mike, a well-renowned Pain Consultant at the Royal Oldham Hospital, 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 passed away in hospital.

Jo, from Rochdale, 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.

"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."

Jo,will be a member of Team MG, and will be cycling alongside her children Siobhan, Ciaran and Aoife and family friends Brian O'Gorman and Yara Ali Adib.

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.

Around 500 cyclists take part for the BHF each year, raising over £300,000 in the fight against heart disease.

Each year, 30,000 people in the UK have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but the survival rate is less than 1 in 10.

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