Two Chorleywood men took on an extreme cycling challenge last week to raise money for the Cure Parkinson’s Trust (CPT).

Will Cook, 50, and Sean Brew, 51, have a deep connection with CPT after their childhood friend and CPT co-founder, Tom Issacs, passed away suddenly in 2017 having lived with Parkinson’s since the age of 26.

Naming their challenge 'Coast To Coast To Cure', they joined a larger team of 13 fundraisers, which also included England rugby legends Mike Tindall, MBE and Iain Balshaw, MBE.

The men began their route on the Atlantic coast and weaved through the Mediterranean in just 100 hours, traversing stunning French Pyrenees.

The beautiful but brutal cycling route covered 735km and 12,800m of ascent, crossing many of the cols made famous by the Tour de France.

Mr Cook, who spent 26 years as an intellectual property solicitor, said: “I absolutely loved being involved in this challenge, but it was tough.

“I have run marathons and completed long triathlons in the past, but Coast To Coast To Cure was on another level: 10-13 hours per day in the saddle, 3-hour steep climbs, freezing temperatures and snow driven horizontally into your face at 6000 feet.

“But the hardship we went through in 5 days fades away in the light of the cause we are supporting: Parkinson’s is a cruel neurodegenerative condition and it must be stopped.

“We rode to raise funds for a cure, and The Cure Parkinson’s Trust exists to find a cure. That knowledge helped the whole team, including Mike Tindall and Iain Balshaw, through the endurance challenge of our lives.”

Mr Brew, who is a long term supporter for the charity, added: “It was an incredibly tough challenge which tested our limits. Everyone rose to this challenge with great fortitude and humour which helped us on the toughest climbs and sinewy descents.

“Exhaustion, exhilaration and relief were just a few of the emotions we all felt as we rolled into Cerbère at 1pm on the Friday with 735km now behind us!”

Around 145,000 people are estimated to be living with Parkinson’s in the UK - and it is predicted that 1 in 37 people will receive a diagnosis of Parkinson’s in their lifetime.

CPT funds innovative research which is dedicated to finding new treatments that can slow, stop or reverse Parkinson’s.