Despite the near-fatal cycling accident two years ago, Stuart Humphrey, from Haywards Heath, is back in the saddle to ride 957 miles this August in the London-Edinburgh-London bike ride.
Back in 2023, Stuart was cycling down Ditchling Beacon, when the traffic had stopped and Stuart rode straight into the back of a hearse.
When he came around, he could neither stand nor breathe properly. The hearse driver rushed him to hospital in the back of his vehicle.
“It would have been funny if I hadn’t been in so much pain,” said Stuart.
“I remember saying to the driver that if I didn’t make it to hospital, he could at least fast track me to the morgue.
“I can look back now and laugh, but there was an empty coffin in the hearse, and I half wondered if I might end up in it.”
Lucky to be alive, Stuart remained in a critical condition in hospital for over a week, where he was treated for a bleed on the brain, head injuries and broken ribs.
Despite his dark humour, Stuart is taking his training very seriously and has been cycling seven days a week for the last year, equating to over 5,000 miles and an elevation of 250,000 feet, which would be 8.5 Everests.
“Sussex Cancer Fund helped Cliff and his wife Dawn in so many ways”, he said.
“It’s likely that every cancer patient in Sussex will have benefitted in some way from the charity, even if they don’t realise it.
“They’re a small charity but they do so much, including funding key research, equipping hospitals with vital equipment, like scanners, drip stands and modesty gowns, and offering complementary therapies to patients to support them through their cancer experience.
“But it’s really thanks to my lovely wife Lizzi that I’m even doing the event at all.
“I only received a place on the oversubscribed ballot because she offered to volunteer for the week. Luckily, she’s a physiotherapist, so she may come in very helpful indeed.”
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