Seven-year-old takes on 100km cycling challenge for stroke

Briony Buckney, 7, from Peckham, South London, has completed a 100km charity cycle ride from London to Brighton. Accompanied by her dad Pete, Briony set off on the four day journey on 28 May to raise vital funds for the Stroke Association in honour of her grandfather Tom Buckney.

Briony’s grandfather had a series of strokes, resulting in vision problems and aphasia. Tom’s aphasia meant that he lost the ability to read and to communicate his thoughts when speaking; skills he worked hard to re-learn.

Briony met her grandfather only once, when she was just six days old. After his third stroke, which happened days after Briony’s birth, Tom never regained consciousness and died less than a month later. 

Pete said: “The cycle ride is something Briony’s wanted to do for a long time. We planned to do it last year but there were a few hiccups - including Briony breaking her collarbone, which set us back a bit. Briony has impressed us all with her determination to take on the challenge. She wanted to do it for her Grandfather and for other families like ours that have been affected by stroke.

Briony originally set herself a target of raising £250, the equivalent of 5 years’ worth of pocket money. With the support of family and friends, she has so far raised over £1,000.

Briony said: “I love cycling and I wanted us to get to Brighton as soon as possible, but my dad said no-one would be there to meet us if we got there a day early - I think it was really because his legs were hurting! My favourite bit was riding up Ditchling Beacon with just one stop, and hearing Grandma, Mummy and my little brother William cheering me on at the top.”

Ruth Dunkin, Community and Events Fundraising Manager at the Stroke Association said ‘Briony took on a huge challenge when she set out on her cycle ride, both in the fundraising target she set herself and the distance she covered. She and her Dad did an absolutely fantastic job to raise over £1,000 for the Stroke Association. Through the support of families like Briony and her Dad, we can continue to support stroke survivors and their loved ones.”

It’s not too late to support Briony’s cycling challenge, visit https://www.justgiving.com/BrionyL2B/. For more information about the Stroke Association, call 0303 3033 100.