This summer, Julian turned 60 just after completing an epic ride from Land’s End to John o’ Groats in aid of Age UK. He’s long been aware of the challenges older people face. He plays the piano and sings in care homes, while in recent years, his mother has experienced difficulties that required additional support.
A helping hand
“Mum unfortunately has an issue with the part of the brain that regulates balance for quite a few years, which led to a growing number of falls, including one really bad one a year ago,” explains Julian. “A nice neighbour found her and got her to hospital. It became clear that though she wanted to stay in her own home, and she could, she'd be needing more help. And this was where the need for Attendance Allowance came in.”
Applying for Attendance Allowance wasn’t something that Julian or his mother knew much about, so they required some assistance to navigate the process, which the Age UK Advice Line was able to do. “A lot of older people find these forms difficult,” explains Julian. “And the whole concept of applying for state help is a difficult concept – to convince yourself that you ought to be getting something rather than someone else.”
It’s this reasoning that means there’s currently billions of pounds of welfare benefits go unclaimed by older people in the UK. Thankfully, Julian’s mum made the decision to apply for Attendance Allowance, with an Age UK adviser asking her lots of questions that helped get the form completed.
“They were excellent and very thorough,” Julian says of the adviser, whose assistance led to a successful application. “As a result, she’s receiving a good amount of Attendance Allowance, and that means [my mum] can live in her own home, which she’s determined to do for as long as possible. She has a lady who now comes in twice a week, doing all sorts of things to help mum. They’ve become friends. It’s been lovely.”
It became clear that though my mother wanted to stay in her own home, she'd be needing more help. And this was where the need for Attendance Allowance came in.
Inspired to give back
This support has not only helped Julian’s mum, but it’s also provided peace of mind for him too. Inspired by this, Julian decided to take on the challenge of riding from Land’s End to John o’ Groats in support of Age UK, so that more older people might benefit from the services we provide. It would be no small undertaking, a distance on traditional roads of 874 miles, though more if there were any detours along the way, which Julian included, so as to be able to see and stay with friends along the way.
“I got comments about it being crazy,” reveals Julian of initial responses to his goal. “And I agreed, it was crazy.”
What many of those people didn’t know, however, is that Julian is an accomplished cyclist. By his own admission, he wasn’t much of a sportsman in his school days, but as he became a teenager, running and cycling became great strengths and passions. At that time, he lived in Somerset, so would regularly cycle to the south coast and back.
The other thing many Julian’s friends and colleagues might not have known is that Julian had already done the ride before, aged 20 – albeit the other way around, riding from John o’ Groats to Land’s End. And while being 40 years younger had its advantages, it was countered by the conditions at the time.
“I obviously hadn’t listened well enough during geography at school,” laughs Julian. “I didn’t know about prevailing winds in those days. So I was mostly against the wind. But the thing is, I was a student on holiday, so I had as long as I needed. I spent most of July doing it back then. Now I’m in a job where you can take basically two weeks of annual leave at a time.”
In short: he had to do the ride a lot more quickly on this second go.
Julian's fundraising story for Age UK
Watch our interview with Julian, as he explains the motivation for his fundraising, how Age UK has supported his mother, and offers some words of advice for people looking to challenge themselves.
The kindness of strangers (and friends)
With just two weeks to complete the challenge, and Julian unsure if he’d actually be able to do it in that time, he worked hard to ensure he was hitting daily targets, having built up his stamina through training and time in the gym beforehand. Julian was also heartened by the support he received in his fundraising – not just with their generosity in donating to his JustGiving page ahead of the trip, but also in the people he met along the way. Early on the way, as it turns out…
“I’d got to Penzance station and was riding to Land’s End to start and my chain came off,” recalls Julian. “I had four stone of luggage on the bike, which made it difficult to lift up [the bike] to sort out your chain. Three passersby stopped and helped me, one local lady and a couple who were obviously visiting. And while they were doing this, we were talking about what I was doing and why I got all this clobber and showed them the Age UK t-shirt. And bless me, I discovered later that they’d donated!”
Three passersby stopped and helped me, one local lady and a couple who were obviously visiting... and bless me, I discovered later that they’d donated!
An early birthday present
Thankfully, the rest of the journey went more smoothly and as Julian neared John o’ Groats, on the north-east tip of Scotland, he was rewarded with the beautiful view of the Orkney Islands in the distance. What’s more, despite his doubts, not only did Julian complete the trek within the two weeks he had off from work, he managed to complete it a day earlier, providing him with “a very fine early birthday present.” As did having raised £1,100 for Age UK!
“I was very pleased,” says Julian. “And so was my mother. She’s always been immensely supportive of her children’s ambitions. I was able to stay with her as she lives on the route, and I think when she saw me in the morning, packing all the bags onto the bike, it really hit her that what I was doing was seriously difficult.”
With that in mind, what advice does Julian have for anyone who’s older and looking to challenge themselves, whether in support of Age UK or to improve physical and mental wellbeing?
“Stretch yourself,” suggests Julian. “Testing the limits of what you can still do will keep you young!”
