Bedfordshire bike fanatic rediscovers his love for biking with eBikes after being diagnosed with rare heart condition

A road biking fanatic from Bedfordshire has rediscovered his love for biking with eBikes after being diagnosed with untreatable illnesses and unable to ride.

Ross Cunliffe, 64, from Church End, near Hockliffe, has seen almost as many hilltops as Chris Froome. As a road bike die-hard, Ross has traveled around Europe with his cycling club, the Gregarios.

He said: “I just love pedalling. I love the history of cycling. I love the weirdness of it. I love the stuff it gives me; that cliche about freedom. I’m 64 now and I still feel like a kid when I’m riding.”

But Ross’ time cycling competitively was cut short after he was diagnosed with bone cancer and a rare heart condition, he went from being a good age-group athlete to not being able to walk up a flight of stairs.

At the point of his diagnosis, his cycling captain told him to buy an eBike.

Ross said: “I’ll be honest. Because I still thought of myself as a reasonably competent racer, that was difficult.”

He put off making the move to electric for a long time and now he wishes he had done it sooner.

Without the help of an eBike, Ross would not have been able to fulfil his love of pedalling, he said: “Even though I’ve got these conditions that are debilitating, I can still ride. I can ride as far as a want to go, I can do all the things I want to do. I can get all of the sensations I used to get with the help of an eBike.”

Ross rides an estarli e20, built by Estarli, in Berkhamsted. The versatile folding eBike has 20inch wheels, Shimano gears and a hidden battery that powers it for around 50km.