The last time I spoke to my mum, she answered the phone and said:

“My sweet boy, how much I craved to hear your voice again.”

Not long after, I lost her to cancer. She was 66. Far too young.

My mum was 16 when she had me. She was told to choose: to give me up, or leave the house.

She chose to leave.

She chose me.

My mum loved to cook. She was a wonderful cook.

She had an old notebook that her mother had given her, a leather-covered notebook filled with recipes in her own handwriting.

Every day she would take it out of the cupboard and cook for the family. Coming home from school, we were always welcomed by the smell of mum’s cooking.

That smell was home. That smell was her.

I still think about it often.

Cancer took my mum far too young.

It has also taken friends, and too many people I care about.

And it keeps taking

Cancer is taking too many of us.

And most of it does not have to happen.

Every year, cancer kills over 1.3 million people across the EU.

Millions more families are changed forever by a diagnosis. And the majority of people going through that have never been told, in plain and simple language, that the choices they make every day have a direct effect on their risk.

The World Cancer Research Fund says their researchers believe up to 40% of cancer cases are preventable.

Through diet. Through body weight. Through physical activity. The science is clear, and has been for years.

That gap, between what science knows and what we have been told, is costing lives.

I cannot accept that.

I do not think you can either.

In June 2026, I will leave London and begin a cycling expedition across Europe. A journey of 20+ months, through 41 countries and more than 23,000 kilometres.

Each week on the road, I will arrive in a new town or village and cook with local people. Together we will share a meal, and talk honestly about how food, diet, body weight and physical activity shape our long-term health.

Not in a lecture theatre. Not in a medical journal. In person, around a table, in the way that actually changes how people think and live.

In capital cities along the route, I will meet local cycling communities to organise events, promote a healthy lifestyle, and fundraise in aid of the World Cancer Research Fund.

I am proud to be doing this in aid of World Cancer Research Fund.

40% of cancer cases are preventable. The World Cancer Research Fund has spent decades proving it. Their research is rigorous, their guidance is clear, and their experts are the best in the field.

But science locked in journals saves nobody.

I will bring their evidence-based prevention strategies into homes, town squares, and cycling clubs across Europe. Through public speaking, cooking demonstrations, and community events, I will translate their research into meals people can cook, habits people can adopt, and choices people can make.

This is not just a ride in my mum’s memory.

This is a campaign to put life-saving information into the hands of people who need it, in places where real life happens.

It is exactly the kind of conversation my mum would have loved.

What a donation actually does

Picture a family in a small town in Germany. I have just cycled in from three countries away. We sit down together to cook. They talk about what they eat, how they live, then we talk about what the research actually says.

One of them learns something that changes a small habit.

And that small change may reduce their risk of developing cancer.

That is what this campaign is trying to make happen. Across Europe. In 41 countries. Over 20+ months.

When you donate, you make that conversation happen.

You become part of this. Every country I reach, every conversation I start, every person who hears something that shifts the way they think about their health.

That starts with you.

Join me.

Make this journey possible.

This is something I cannot do alone. An expedition of this scale takes real resources, and while I am covering as much as I can myself, I need your support to make it possible.

This campaign has an initial fundraising goal of £10,000. This covers the absolute essentials to get the expedition on the road, and every contribution, regardless of size, moves it forward.

Please donate today.

And please share this page with anyone you know who has been touched by cancer, who cares about prevention, or who simply believes that more people deserve access to life-saving information.

I will document the journey openly, share regular updates, locations, and progress along the way so you can follow every step of the expedition, and see exactly how your support is being used.

You can also follow my journey on social media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agis.rides.the.world

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@AgisRidesTheWorld

A personal thank you.

Every person who donates will receive a free digital copy of my book, When A Potato Was Just a Potato: Essays on the Lost Art of Ordinary Living.

It is a book about slowing down, paying attention, and finding meaning in the everyday. In many ways, it is the same spirit that fills my mum's old notebook. I hope it means something to you.

I cannot bring my mum back.

I cannot change what happened.

But I can carry something of her with me – her love, her recipes, the memory of that smell coming through the front door – I will carry those across Europe, in 41 countries and more than 23,000 kilometres.

She chose me. Now I ride for her.

With love,

Agis

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PS: How Donations Will Help.

Initial fundraising goal: £10,000. This covers the absolute essentials to get the expedition on the road.

Please note: all funds raised through this GoFundMe go directly towards expedition costs. Fundraising in aid of the World Cancer Research Fund will happen separately during the journey itself through community events, cycling meetups, and direct campaigns in each country.

Thank you. I am truly grateful for your support.