CHEERS, banners and balloons greeted a group of six charity cyclists as they arrived in Dumfries on Saturday.
The Ride for Rod group had completed 240 miles in three days in aid of Parkinson’s UK.
Their efforts were in memory of a close friend, Rod Slater, who lived in Dumfries and who died from the condition last year.
They set out from where he grew up in Wirksworth in Derbyshire, ending in the town where had had settled and lived with his wife Lesley and their two young sons.
And they have raised £4855 so far.
It was the idea of Alistair Puddick, of Chesterfield, who said: “My best friend of 37 years was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 39 and tragically passed away at the age of 48 in May of 2023, leaving behind his wife and two sons aged 8 and 5.
“I have seen firsthand how much this crippling disease takes away and just want to support the great work that Parkinson’s UK do and also go some way to help fund research into a cure and supporting current and future sufferers of Parkinson’s.
“Rod was a very keen cyclist, having followed the Tour de France on a number of occasions and would think nothing of knocking out 50 miles on a Saturday morning, so it is only fitting that we do a bike ride in his memory.”
He added: “I know Rod would have loved to do this ride so it was the perfect activity to do in his memory.”
