Parkinsons Dad raises £3,000 in epic Tour De France Charity challenge

Keen cyclist Brian Hall, 60 joined a team of eight friends and relatives to tackle a tough eight mile Alp D’Huez stage of the classic cycle route.

The intrepid team raised the cash for Funding Nero which helps fund research on treatments and cures for neurological conditions.

Brian said: “It was absolutely fantastic - the best day of my life apart from the birth of my children.

“We all managed to do it and I was amazed after so little training, particularly my daughter Jo who hadn’t ridden a road bike until 10 weeks before .”

Brian and son Kevin Hall, his wife Amy, friends James Wilson, James Drennon, Paul Hoskyns, Richard Antcliffe, Daryl Fletcher and Elliott Hind, successfully rode up the course which has 21 hairpin bends, rising 2,000ft to the ski station finish.

Brian added: “I have been cycling for 40 years and I’ve never tackled hills like that.

“Jo went up the first hill, went round the bend and burst out crying it was so hard. I’m very proud of her.”

The team camped in the valley and soaked up the atmosphere of the Tour De France, which passed through the stage the day after their epic challenge.

Brian has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease for 20 years.

He said: “ Four years ago I was losing my enthusiasm for things and my neurologist Dr Bajaj toldme any exercise is good to slow down the symptoms of Parkinsons.

“I decided to take up cycling again.”

To donate to Brian’s The Alp D’Huez Challenge, 2015, visit his justgiving page on https://www.justgiving.com/brianhallalpeduhuez2015/

Funding Nero raises money for research on treatments and cures for neurological conditions. The charity is currently raising £900,000 needed to fund trials for children with DIPG brain tumours.