After his diagnosis of a debilitating disease, Nick Truran felt like his active lifestyle was ending abruptly. Little did he know, with the power of e-bikes, his cycling journey was just getting started.
In the UK alone, around 250,000 people are diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME.
The neurological disease comes with many symptoms, including overwhelming exhaustion, flu-like feelings, and stiff muscles.
A few years back, Nick Truran, Strategic Cycling Lead and Development Manager at Hertfordshire County Council, noticed he was feeling rundown and unwell a lot of the time. It was 2020, and in the midst of a pandemic, that he received his diagnosis of ME.
He said: “My symptoms had started to take over my life, so it was a relief to get some answers, but finding out I had ME, was a total shock. I sat there, numbly listening to a doctor, over e-consult. I was staring at a screen, and wondering what would become of my previously active life.”
An avid cyclist, that had dedicated his career to promoting active travel to the local community, Nick felt a wave of despair over his future, reflecting that his whole life could potentially be altered, even down to everyday activities, such as the school run, with his four-year-old son, whom he previously had strapped in a child seat, on his manual bike.
He added: “I’ve never not been a cyclist- it was a way of life to me, and for my family, and after my prognosis, I was terrified that it would be taken away from me. After crashes of exhaustion, and a week in bed, I decided, as clichéd as it sounds, that I wasn’t going to let it beat me.”
After some tentative attempts on his old bike, Nick realised that he may have to leave that level of exertion behind.
Curious about all the furore around electric bikes, or more commonly named: “e-bikes,” Nick decided to investigate more.
He said: “I was reading more and more, that e-bikes made for a smoother cycle, that they were perfect for someone that fatigued easily, and I wanted to know more. After demoing a model, I realised I could get my cycling abilities back, with the extra assistance. Traditional pedals are now too tiring for me, but with the e-bike, I can get my son to school, and head to work, without feeling wrecked by the time I arrived. It’s given me a whole new lease of life, I’m also back to doing what I love the most- exploring the countryside.”
After being impressed by the ease of e-bike usage on his changing mobility, Nick approached Highway Cycles for advice, and has now decided to pursue the potential of Hertfordshire County Council’s Highway Team incorporating an e-bike fleet into their future site visits, to save on fuel consumption, and improve the local environment.
Peter Kelleher, Trustees of Hertfordshire ME/CFS Support Group, said: “It’s great to hear that Nick found a way to get back to his passion. Sadly, that isn’t often the case for this debilitating life-changing condition, for which there is little treatment, and no known cure. We would urge anybody with ME/CFS, or similar conditions, to only exercise as they feel able to, within their own baseline parameters and they may wish to seek medical advice, before doing so. You may eventually be able to return some normality from your old life, and getting on an electric bike certainly did the trick for Nick. We wish him many miles of happy cycling.”
To find out more about e-bikes, visit: Electric Bikes | Highway Cycles
If you, or anyone you know, is suffering with ME, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Post-Viral Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, or long Covid, support in Hertfordshire is available at: https://www.hertsmecfs.org/ or: https://meassociation.org.uk/me-connect/
