85-Year-Old Woman Cycled For Over 1,500 Km To Cope With Loss Of Her 3 Children – News18

Cycling is often seen as a passion or a sport, but for this 85-year-old woman from Scotland, it became a way to cope with the profound grief of losing her three children within a span of just four years. Mavis Paterson left to grapple with the memories of her children, found solace and purpose in cycling. What started as a means of dealing with her immense loss has transformed into a true passion, making her one of the most popular cyclists in Scotland. Mavis has pedalled her way across her homeland, covering over 1,500 kilometres.

Resident of Auchenmalg in Wigtownshire, Mavis Paterson who is affectionately known as ‘Granny Mave’, has faced unimaginable loss over the years. After being widowed in 1996, she experienced the heartbreaking deaths of her son Sandy and daughter Katie within six months of each other in 2012 and 2013, both due to health problems. The relentless wave of tragedy continued with the loss of her other son, Bob, in an accident a few years later. Despite enduring such profound grief, the brave woman refused to be defeated by her circumstances.

According to a CNN Sport report, Mavis Paterson found a way to cope with her unimaginable loss through cycling. Every day for a month, she would get up early and go around tracing Scotland’s circumference on the cycle, braving through its undulating landscape and unpredictable weather. She would complete 80 km daily.

Paterson, who also has three grandchildren, said while speaking about her passion for cycling and about the loss of her children, “If I didn’t have my bicycle, and this is terrible to say, I don’t think I would want to live. To lose your complete family, it’s just unbelievable. My daughter once said, because one of her friends had died, and she said: ‘Oh mum, imagine losing a child.’ I said: ‘I know. I couldn’t imagine it.’ All mine have gone.”

In the meantime, following the demise of her children, another thing that kept her going was her willingness to raise funds for a British-based charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, for which she completed 1000+ miles around Scotland in May this year. She went on to share how she started her journey alone and was joined by other cyclists, who came out to give her company and cycled with her for a few days.

Maves Paterson, who has been cycling for several years now, was once told by her orthopaedic surgeon that she would need a knee replacement, considering her cartilage was worn away and she just had a bone-on-bone condition. However, the elderly woman was yet to give up as she had grand plans to complete her cycle ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats. And guess what? She actually completed all 960 miles of it, getting her name registered in the Guinness Book of World Records to become the oldest woman to complete that ride.

Since then, her adventures have been capturing public attention on social media, with well-wishers extending their support for Granny Mave.