A dad-of-three has undertaken an 850-mile bike ride in honour of his best friend who suddenly died in his sleep from a heart attack.
Rob Brackstone, from Upchurch, wanted to do the ride in memory of his mate and business partner, but also wanted to raise awareness after he also suffered similar health problems of his own, with several “dizzy spells” leading him to get checked out by doctors.
His daughter, Hollie, says she is “so proud” of him for doing the mammoth challenge.
Rob and friend Paul Eames met on the first day of secondary school and had been friends ever since.
They went on to become partners of ESM Ltd on the Eurolink Business Estate in Sittingbourne – a company that designs and builds exhibition display spaces.
However, in December 2023, Paul went to sleep and never woke up.
He had had a heart attack on the morning of his 49th birthday. It was later discovered he had an undiagnosed heart condition.
Hollie said: “None of us expected it at all. It was just before Christmas as well.
“You never want to lose anyone, but especially not at that time of the year. I remember coming home and realising someone had died, but it could have been anyone.
“Nobody I knew was ill. It was a huge shock to everyone.”
The 21-year-old added: “Dad couldn’t have time to grieve because he had to run the business. It was a really difficult.”
Rob had similar health complications of his own and went to the GP after he experienced some dizzy spells.
An ECG showed signs of a heart abnormality and he is now regularly assessed for signs of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a condition where the muscular wall of the heart becomes thickened, which can make it harder to pump blood around the body.
It affects around 1 in 500 people in the UK.
In a tribute online, the 50-year-old said he missed sharing the “simple pleasures in life” with his friend, which usually included a beer or two.
Rob added: “Paul also loved his job in the events industry, and he loved to travel.
“He did get trips to Dubai, Singapore, and the like through work.
“But more often we’d be at conferences around the UK, exploring the cities in which we stayed, and appreciating the venues in which we worked – who hosted the events that created our livelihoods.
“As a result, I decided to do a ride in honour of Paul, between some of the venues he loved working in and the towns he visited with work, highlighting the importance of heart health, whilst doing something that I love – and which provides me with such a release from the stresses of day to day work – whilst raising money for the British Heart Foundation and select mental health charities.
“I think this will be a perfect tribute, and a cathartic process for me as I deal with his loss.”
Rob has travelled approximately 850 miles over nine days.
You can find out more about how the trip went here.
Hollie said: “To be honest, my dad does a lot of crazy things. I wasn’t completely shocked, but I did think he was insane.
“I knew he would pull something out of the bag. He does triathlons and has completed an Ironman a couple of years ago, but never anything to this scale.”
He set off on Thursday, August 7, from the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre and made stops at well-known event venues along the way, including SECC Glasgow, ACC Liverpool, Manchester Central and the recently expanded ExCeL London.
Hollie drove the support van and followed him down to the Detling Showground near Maidstone, where he finished on Friday (August 15).
Rob set up a JustGiving page, where so far more than £4,600 has been raised.
The challenge may be over but he’s still keen to raise as much as he can particularly for the British Heart Foundation.
Click here if you would like to donate.
Hollie added: “I think it was harder than he might have expected it to be.
“There’s been all sorts of weather conditions – we’ve had wind, rain and heat.
“Seeing him struggle is so difficult, but I knew that at the end he was going to be over the moon.”
