There was NO STOPPING ME

Every day was starting to feel like an uphill struggle for retired nurse Laura Wilson, but then she made a decision...

- ADAM CARPENTER

Lifting my bike above my head, I posed for the camera. I’d just completed a six-day, 235-mile cycle, and while my body was exhausted, I felt elated. It had been my lifetime’s ambition to cycle the 185-mile Hebridean Way around Scotland’s Outer Hebrides and I’d done it, plus another 50 miles – in my 50s!

I’d loved cycling since childhood, and as a student nurse I biked to work every day. Once I’d qualified, it seemed harder to fit cycling around my irregular shifts, and when I became a mum of five, my priorities changed completely. I knew I’d got into unhealthy eating habits, relying on takeaways instead of cooking.

I have Asperger’s syndrome, and I found comfort in sticking to familiar routines and disliked trying new textures or flavours.

Making a change

With arthritis in my neck and spine, as my weight rose, the pain worsened. Working as a nurse became increasingly difficult and I ended up taking medical retirement.