Intrepid cyclist Grant Crawley is one of the first to sign up for our Action 100, Bristol to London bike challenge, despite suffering from a rare and debilitating condition which affects his mobility.

Grant Crawley

Grant, who is 35, and like many young men loves a sporting challenge, suffers from a rare condition called Multifocal Motor Neuropathy with Conduction Block. This condition causes his immune system to attack the myelin sheath of the motor nerves, leading to limited movement.

Grant says: "Basically my brain sends a signal, but it never gets to my fingers because the wiring has been damaged."

Unfortunately for Grant, there is no cure for his condition, but he has chosen to take on the mammoth task of this 100 mile ride in support of the charity as we are conducting research into related neurological conditions such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome and Motor Neurone Disease.

Grant hopes that supporting the charity may one day lead to a cure, and mean that he no longer needs the intravenous immunoglobulin chemotherapy treatments he currently undertakes every 8 weeks. When asked why he was taking on such an arduous task for Action Medical Research, Grant explained:

Grant's bike

"I am fortunate that I can still ride a bicycle because the condition has not yet damaged my leg muscles, so it's really a case of now or possibly never. I enjoy cycling, although it is quite painful in my left hand due to the amount of muscle wasting."

A major challenge for Grant is the training regime leading up to the bike ride which he has to juggle with chemotherapy.

After his treatment, Grant is often ill for almost two weeks and this keeps him from training on his beloved bicycle, which makes his commitment to the ride all the more astounding.

No stranger to hard work, Grant took part in the London to Paris bike ride for Action Medical Research in July last year and now hopes to complete this years Castle bike ride in May as well as the Action 100 in August.

If you want to sponsor Grant, visit his website to pledge your support for his outstanding personal challenge.

And if hearing about Grant has inspired you to take up this challenge yourself sign up for Action 100 yourself help us build a healthier future for everyone.