Mike Tindall, the grandson-in-law of Queen Elizabeth who is married to Zara Tindall, is going to cycle 12,000 feet high on Sunday, June 28, for a special cause. The 41-year-old former rugby star is joining the Raid Local event to raise money for his patronage, The Cure Parkinson's Trust.
There's also another motivation for Mike to join this challenging fundraiser. He is also doing it for his father, Phil, who has been battling with Parkinson's disease for the last 17 years.
Mike said that it has been painful to see his father's health deteriorate. He believes that the challenge he is facing on the bike on Sunday is nothing compared to the trauma his father goes through day in and day out with such a progressive disease.
Speaking about Parkinson's in 2009, Mike said that many people still don't understand the difficult side of the disease. Those who suffer from Parkinson's sometimes experiencing freezing up while walking in the middle of the street.
Mike has been supporting the fundraiser every year because he doesn't want other sons and daughters to witness what he witnessed with his dad's health. The fundraiser will help support the research that goes into finding a better cure for Parkinson's.
To prepare to finish the race, Mike has been keeping fit at this home with Zara at the Gatcombe Estate, where his mother-in-law, Princess Anne also lives nearby. While he trains for the cycling event, his wife is also training to ride the Olympics in Japan for 2021.
Both the Raid Local and the Olympics were push back from their original schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, since the U.K. is slowly reopening its economy, things are also slowly getting back to normal.
Meanwhile, Mike and Zara also recently got busy for Ascot, the annual race horse event. According to Mike, he and Zara were in Zoom calls for much of the week to do the Queen's bidding. Ascot is the Queen's favorite summer event.
Mike actually got some ribbing from his friends about staying put for Ascot because his wife said so. The Queen's grandson-in-law admitted that his wife would definitely be very upset at him if he skipped his Ascot duties to hang out with his friends who have a Rugby podcast.
The Tindalls have been married since 2011.They have two daughters, Mia, who is six, and Lena, who just turned two years old on June 18.
