Rawdon biker tackles 2,000 mile ride after heart attack (From Wharfedale Observer)

Rawdon biker tackles 2,000 mile ride after heart attack

8:54am Thursday 29th October 2009 in News By Annette McIntyre

When Noel Whittall had a heart attack while paragliding he could easily have decided to opt for a quieter life.

But a year after suffering the potentially life-threatening attack, the 71-year-old has just completed a 2,000-mile trip on an antique motorbike.

Noel, who lives in Rawdon, spent 15 days in Leeds General Infirmary after catching a bus to the hospital – but the heart attack didn’t take away his taste for adventure.

And when he was sent an advice leaflet for heart attack victims showing a man in a potting shed, he decided to tackle something rather more challenging.

Noel, who had lovingly restored a First World War motorbike, has just completed an epic two- and-a-half week journey from his home to John O’ Groats and down to Lands End.

A firm believer that you don’t have to wrap yourself in cotton wool after a heart attack, he has now been asked to give talks on behalf of the British Heart Foundation.

Noel suffered his heart attack while paragliding at Addingham Moorside last year.

He said: “I knew I didn’t feel very well and that I would really rather be on the ground, which was remarkable because the conditions were brilliant.”

Unaware of the severity of the situation, he drove himself home and took two Paracetamol before going to bed. After seeing a doctor the next day he went to hospital on the bus – turning down her offer of an ambulance.

“I went to Leeds and conducted a bit of business and then went to the hospital,” he said. “They let me out 15 days later.”

Shortly afterwards he was sent a booklet from the British Heart Foundation.

“It had this old man on the front doing a bit of potting and I thought, I can aspire to more than that,” said Noel.

“There are two ways of looking at things. You can put yourself in a bit of a cocoon and nurse yourself for the rest of your days, or you can go out and try to see what you can do.”

Noel, who uses the cardiac gym in Guiseley, said: “You are encouraged to exercise. No one has said what you should do is go out and ride an antique motorbike for 2,000 miles, but I thought why not.”

The retired writer and editor has had a lifelong interest in motorcycles and used to ride in vintage motorcycle rallies in the 1960s.

At the end of September he set off on his 1918 belt-driven Model H Triumph to travel the length of Britain – a journey which had been at the back of his mind for some time.

“It was a lot of hard riding and the weather was very mixed, but it was great,” he said.

Noel, who has made a donation to the British Heat Foundation, said: “I didn’t do the ride for charity, I did it for my own amusement. My message is that life goes on.”