You and me versus cancer

People come to the blog for entertainment and it would be easy for you to skip this article, but I hope you’ll stick with it as it’s by far my most important entry to date.

The Transcontinental Race No.4

By now most of you will know what I’m up to; The Transcontinental Race. A 4,000km non-stop, unsupported bike race from Belgium to Turkey. I’ve done small-scale race simulations from London to Bilbao and London to Edinburgh. They hurt, even more than I admit to in my write-ups, but they were only a fraction of the full race distance, so be under no illusions that the race will be beyond tough and push my to my absolute limits. Half of the riders failed to finish last year. Crucially, though, I take this challenge on by choice.

Cancer, however, waves its dirty finger indiscriminately and those it touches face a far tougher challenge. I have seen the devastation it causes to families. I’ve watched friends in pain as they lose loved ones; sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly. I’m not sure which is more cruel. I’ve also watched friends beat cancer too and this is in no small part to the work of organisations like Cancer Research UK.

“The stark reality is that 1 in 2 of us will be affected by cancer. That’s you or your partner. That’s half of your friends. Half of your kids. This fight belongs to us all.”

Friends, this is beyond charity. This is an investment in yourself, your family and your friends. The stark reality is that 1 in 2 of us alive today will be affected by cancer. That’s you or your partner. That’s one of your parents. That’s half your friends, half your kids and half of your colleagues. Nobody escapes the impact of this vicious disease and this fight belongs to us all.

If the blog entertains you, please make a contribution. If you want to encourage me to keep pushing harder and harder during the race, please do that by making a contribution. I will be straddling the line that is my breaking point, all the way to Turkey. These fund-raising efforts will act like a tailwind to steel my resolve and inspire me to dig deeper than I think possible. Some readers are making big donations, for which I’m enormously grateful, but no donation is too small. Every penny counts and inches us closer to beating cancer.

“I expect to turn the pedals over one million times on my way to Turkey, so this represents one penny for every revolution.”

My initial target is £10,000. I expect to turn the pedals just over one million times on my way to Turkey, so this represents 1p for every revolution. Think of my like a coin-operated cyclist. When I find myself in the dark place, later in the race, I will be checking my JustGiving page and your contributions are like pushing coins into my back and powering me for a few more miles.

You can also help by following the blog (there’s a button on the bottom right) and sharing the blog whenever you find it entertaining. The readership has quickly grown bigger than I ever imagined and big brands are already showing an interest. Every new reader helps with that snowball effect and means we can leverage those relationships to raise even bigger sums and make an even bigger difference.

Thank you

Darren