My Tour De 4 Fundraiser to Fight Cancer

I’ve always ridden a bike. I first got serious about it during student days; it was a way to get around, and then a way to get out of the sometimes stifling atmosphere of Cambridge. From this grew the ambition for a serious touring trip, and then racing. I raced for about twelve years, with the University club and back home with Lancaster Cycling Club. Then I moved on to other things; crags and mountains and photography, but I still rode my bike and still followed the great races. And in time I shifted back more to the bike, eventually writing several guidebooks and lots of articles about bikes and cycling. More and more my companion on rides, on and off road, has been my partner Bernie. I’ve followed bike racing for decades too, and admired Chris Hoy ever since he first came to prominence.

I got my own cancer diagnosis in 2018. It’s a lymphoma that’s been well controlled with chemotherapy (I did a course of IV chemo but for some years now it’s been the oral kind). I’m aware that I’m lucky, and I take even more joy than I used to in the simple but beautiful act of riding a bike. But there are people close to me who aren’t so lucky, and as we found out last year, Sir Chris Hoy is also facing a tough prognosis.

So when we heard that he’s promoting a sportive to show that people with cancer can still do amazing things, and to raise funds for cancer charities, it took about ten seconds to decide we’d do it.

The distance of the Blue ride, 60km, is further than I’ve ridden since my diagnosis, so it’s still a challenge, but I’m up for it. And if the going gets tough, I’ll be thinking of Sir Chris, and of the others whose time may be shorter, and I’m sure they’ll get me through.

Anyway, none of us know for sure how long we have. Life is for living and riding a bike is as life-affirming as anything I know.