A Great Yarmouth cycling enthusiast who lost a significant portion of her sight two years ago is to take to the saddle as part of a year-long fundraising challenge to mark the 220th anniversary of Norfolk’s sight loss charity Vision Norfolk.
Miranda Reeves is to ride 50 miles around the town on a tandem with her husband Robert as part of the charity’s campaign, which aims to raise £220,000 during its anniversary year to help support vision impaired people throughout the county.
Mrs Reeves lost 80% of the sight in her left eye and 50% in her right eye through optic neuropathy in December 2023. Prior to this she was a keen cycling enthusiast.
“When the hospital told me I could no longer ride a bike I got miserable and depressed,” she said. “I was in such a hole, when I saw a leaflet for Vision Norfolk at the eye clinic and rang up to see what they could do to help.
“I found it hard to accept how much my sight loss would affect my day-to-day life, and that I would have to give up riding my bicycle. I didn’t know what to do or how to cope, but Vision Norfolk arranged a home visit with Matthew (a community outreach worker for the charity), who is a fellow bike enthusiast.
“He talked me through the various ways the charity could help – and suggested I try a tandem. He actually took me out for a test run on one with him; it was so great to get back in the saddle.
“From that initial contact I met more people living with sight loss and my confidence grew. As well as the tandem, I play tennis and go to coffee mornings run by the team at Vision Norfolk’s Great Yarmouth hub.”
Mrs Reeves, who also suffers from COPD, will undertake the 50 mile challenge with her husband Robert, on a tandem which the charity helped source for the couple.
“The support that Vision Norfolk has given me, right at the point when I was at my lowest, has made a huge difference both practically and emotionally,” said Mrs Reeves. “When I heard about the 220 Challenge, I knew I wanted to take part – and on the bike seemed the obvious way.”
Anyone who wants to sponsor Mrs Reeves’ fundraising efforts can do so by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/page/miranda-reeve-1.
