“... deal with death”
“I PUSH MY BODY AND MIND TO EXTREMES AND IT TAKES ME TO A REALM WHERE I FEEL MORE CONNECTED WITH MY LATE HUSBAND”
Mariel Ramos, 33, from London
I’VE JUST COME back from riding Alpe d’Huez, and I’m riding from John O’Groats to Land’s End in September. Cycling for me is spiritual, almost meditative. On long rides, I push my body and mind and it takes me to a realm where I feel more connected with my late husband Oli.
I met Oli when I began working in London. When I joined a team organising the company’s Paris to London three-day bike ride Oli trained with me. Our relationship grew with our love of cycling.
In 2012 Oli became ill. A blood test showed something in his liver that looked like an infection. He was put on antibiotics but two weeks later it was confirmed that he had cancer. As soon as he was diagnosed, I gave up work to look after him. We’d had a plan to cycle across south-east Asia and bought a huge map to plot our 4000-mile route, but Oli never got to do it. Three and a half months after he was diagnosed he died. He was 30.
The map inspires me with Oli’s determination and thirst for life and adventure. After his death, I set up Oadventures.com, a cycling holiday company, because I promised him I would go on many adventures in his name. Cycling helps me come to terms with losing him and keep his dreams alive. I’m riding the Deloitte Ride Across Britain to honour Oli’s memory. I’ve also set up a lodge in Lanzarote as a training base for those who share my passion, and through a cancer charity, Hello Beautiful, Oli’s friends and I will be cycling his route through south-east Asia in 2018.