How fortunate it turned out to be for me that one of the top
results in my Google search for ‘fun cycling events’ back in September 2013,
was:
‘www.actionforcharity.co.uk:
Women V Cancer Ride the Night – the first women only 100km night cycle in
London…’
At the tender age of 48 I’d only just started cycling and,
although I wasn’t (and still am not) a competitive cyclist, I’d discovered a
real passion for riding my bike. I was enjoying leisurely ‘Sunday Cycles’ with
my Alex and we’d recently completed a 50-mile Pedal for Scotland event. I’d loved the camaraderie and atmosphere
of this mass ride, and I was keen to have another big event in my diary to aim
and train for.
Ride the Night instantly appealed to me because my daughter Gemma
had just moved down to London and the event presented an ideal opportunity for
us to cycle together in her new home city. I also found the idea of cycling
with a big bunch of women, of all ages and abilities, attractive and I knew it
would be a lot of fun. I also knew that it would be a challenge for me to
venture out on a long ride without my ever-supportive husband by my side - I’d
actually have to learn how to change an inner tube on my own!
I also loved the fact that Women V Cancer was a partnership
between three charities that fund research and provide support for people
affected by the three most common cancers that affect women. And, most satisfying
of all was discovering that the funds raised by Women V Cancer events were
split equally between the three partner charities - Breast Cancer Care, Ovarian
Cancer Action and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust – stating loudly and clearly that
one organisation wasn’t rated more highly than the other and that the
challenges faced when diagnosed with one type of cancer are no more significant
than those faced when diagnosed with one of the others.
After volunteering in our local hospice for several years
and having lost some family members and friends to cancer (as most of us have),
I’d seen first hand the devastating affect that this bloody awful disease can have
on both the person diagnosed and their families.
So, I clicked on the ‘Register’ button and signed up for
Ride the Night 2014. I had plenty of time to raise the required £200, and
initially I was just going to hold a wee coffee morning or a local raffle.
But then something happened.
I discovered a Ride the Night Facebook group that had been
set up to provide support, chat, links and information for everyone taking part.
I signed up and very soon joined in with the lively conversation and varied
threads. It wasn’t long before I was getting to know some truly incredible, and
truly inspiring, women. Women who had cycled in other Action for Charity
events, women who were new to events, women who had cancer, women who were in treatment,
women who’d survived cancer, women who’d lost their mums or their aunties or
their sisters or their sons or their best friends or their dads or their
daughters, women who were frightened to cycle on the road, women who were
overweight, women who were underweight, women who had lots of cycling
experience and women who had none.
It was a lively, and very special, community to be a part
of. And their stories made me want to do more. I was inspired and deeply
touched by the strength and determination shown by these incredible women, all
of whom had decided to stick two fingers up to cancer, grab life by the
handlebars and ride.
So, I decided that a coffee morning just wouldn’t quite cut
it. Instead, I decided to write a little book. A little book of rhymes, about
cancer and cycling, that would try to get the awareness messages across in a
different kind of way – and raise some funds in the process.
It developed into a much bigger project than I’d anticipated
– but I loved every minute of the process: writing the poems, finding sponsors,
liasing with the charities, working with a fantastic graphic designer (Sandhy
Robinson-Jones, an ovarian cancer and aneurism survivor - and all round wonder
woman), enlisting my daughter’s illustration skills; and working with fellow
Night Riders who’d agreed to share their personal experiences of cancer. After
a few months of hard - but extremely rewarding – work, One Woman’s Verses Vs Cancer was eventually published.
After a fundraising launch night, I spent the following months
leading up to Ride the Night - and beyond - punting my little book through
social media, selling it at every local event I could manage along to, reciting
rhymes wherever anyone would listen (community groups, medical conferences, WRI
meetings and get-togethers in my house!) and basically taking every fund and
awareness raising opportunity that came my way! And I loved every minute of
that process too.
While all of that was going on, I was still enjoying my
cycling. When the time arrived for Ride the Night 2014 it was very special. I
had my daughter by my side and it was just brilliant to finally meet many of
the women from all over the UK that I’d only ever met online before. Many of us
have stayed firm friends.
It was a sight to behold. 1500 women of all shapes and sizes
on bikes of all shapes and sizes lit up to varying degrees and dressed up to
varying degrees setting off from Windsor Racecourse to Ride the Night. All
rising to their own personal challenges and keep on peddling till they finally
crossed the finish line. I’ll never forget it.
Afterwards, I signed up for Ride the Night 2015 and it
didn’t take much persuasion for me then to register for an even bigger
challenge; Cycle Africa! Ride the Night 2015 was just as fantastic an
experience as last year’s and I’m so excited about heading to Tanzania to cycle
350km in October.
To date I’ve raised over £7000 for Women V Cancer, but I
like to think that the awareness I’ve helped to raise – through people reading,
or hearing, the rhymes from the little book – has been much more valuable. The
signs and symptoms messages are so very important and there’s still such a lot
of work to be done in getting those messages across.
So, it’s fitting that my Women V Cancer experience is about
to take me off in a new direction! I’ve had quite a journey since that day back
in September 2013 when I Googled ‘fun cycling events’. It’s been so much more
than just a ‘fun cycling event’.
I’ve made some special friends for life, I’ve clocked up lots
of miles on my bike, I’ve written a little book, I’ve raised some awareness of
the signs and symptoms of ovarian and breast cancer and the importance of smear
tests, I’ve raised money for three fantastic charities, I’ve learned how to fix
a puncture, I’ve sussed out hills (slow and steady…), I’ve learned how best to
soothe a sore butt, I’ve laughed a lot, cried a lot, learned a lot and been
inspired a lot.
And now, after years of either raising awareness or working
for various charities on a voluntary basis, I’m delighted to have been given
the opportunity to work for one of those very charities as a part-time
employee.
I was actually helping my son in his search for a new job
when I stumbled across an advert on a recruitment website for Breast Cancer Care.
I applied immediately, couldn’t believe my luck when I was invited for
interview, then very nervously attended my first interview for employment in
over 30 years (I’ve been self-employed most of my working life). I was over the
moon to be offered the job.
So, say hello to the new ‘B-Aware Support Assistant’ for
Breast Cancer Care in Scotland!
I’m so excited about starting my new job next Monday, and I’m so very
grateful to Action for Charity for facilitating a partnership called Women V
Cancer that continues to do so very much, in so many different ways, to bring
women together in the fight against cancer. I know, without a shadow of doubt,
that my experiences over these past two years will have played more than a
large part in the Project Manager’s decision to offer me the job.
I’d like, therefore, to say a big ‘Thank You’ to Women V Cancer. And, I hope that you’ll continue for
a long time yet to encourage, inspire and support women like me.
