From Wits' End to John O'Groats: A Journey by Les Roberts

Les Roberts

AuthorHouse, Aug 17, 2009 - Travel - 116 pages

"If this thing insists on moving in with me then it's going to be on my bloody terms". This defiant promise was made 16 years ago on the day that it was confirmed that Les Roberts had Parkinson's disease. In the summer of 2008 he would put this proclamation to its toughest test. For Les, a runner who had won the Masters 5,000 metres World Championship in 1985, and cyclist who had earlier competed successfully at senior level, riding from Land's End to John O'Groats in 12 days would be a real challenge – particularly at the age of 64. This book is Les's account of the highs and lows of what would be a journey of determination and re-discovery. Part travelogue, part cyclist's tale and part memoire, it is a story of courage, endeavour - and some very memorable puddings!

About the author

Les Roberts is retired and lives in Keston in the London Borough of Bromley. Apart from getting out on his bike as often as he can, he remains closely associated with the activities of Blackheath and Bromley Harriers Athletic Club. He was their President in 2007. Les has enjoyed a lifetime of athletic pursuits, training and competing, firstly in cycle racing,where he featured prominently at regional level, and then running, where he established himself in the successful Blackheath Harriers Track and Field team of the 1980s before going on to become the World Masters 5000m Champion in 1985. Being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1993 wasn't, of course, part of his grand plan but he has seemingly embraced this as a new opportunity to confront new challenges. Determined not to let it get the better of him, Les has kept very active satisfying his need for athletic expression by returning to cycling. In the summer of 2008, in order to raise funds for the The Cure Parkinson's Trust, he took on the challenge of riding his bike from Land's End to John O'Groats. This book, his first, represents an outlet for expressing his slant on that confrontation and events leading up to it.

Bibliographic information

• Title: From Wits' End to John O'Groats: A Journey by Les Roberts
• Author: Les Roberts
• Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2009
• ISBN: 1467006629, 9781467006620
• Length: 116 pages
• Subjects: Travel / General