Tour de 4 charity bike ride

When we heard Chris Hoy had created a bike ride called the "tour de 4" to shine a spotlight on what a stage 4 cancer diagnosis can look like and demonstrate that it is possible to live well and lead a happy life alongside this diagnosis we knew it was something we wanted to be a part of.

Tour de 4 is a brand new cycling initiative, born from Sir Chris Hoy’s vision to change perceptions around stage 4 cancer following his own diagnosis. Encouraging those affected by cancer directly or indirectly to come together.

This event hugely resonated with me for a number of reasons.

1. When my husband was diagnosed with stage four melanoma it was during lockdown. There were no in person support groups to join and it was difficult finding people in a similar situation when you were barely allowed to leave the house. To be in a collective of people who have gone through / are going through a similar experience will be both incredible and I imagine highly emotional. 

2. I love a challenge. I've run two marathons, completed three triathlons, 15+ half marathons but nothing for a long, LONG time. I still need to find myself a bike and actually do a bit of training but I'm hoping I can get round the course (I'm guessing it's hilly and I'm guessing there will be a lot of walking up these hills from me).

3. Finally the third reason is to raise both awareness and money for two amazing charities, Melanoma UK and Melanoma Focus. Melanoma UK and Melanoma Focus provide vital support, raise awareness, and fund research to improve prevention, early detection, and treatment of melanoma. Melanoma is now the fifth most common cancer in the UK, with rates continuing to rise especially in younger adults. If caught early though, melanoma is highly treatable, with a survival rate of over 99% in the UK when it’s diagnosed at stage 1. So it's hugely important to raise awareness so it's caught early. 

Click to donate

David opted for the longest route so we're cycling 56km and I can't imagine in Glasgow it's going to be that flat.

The trickiest part is done, we have sorted out the childcare (Lily is thankfully not joining the ride) and the train with bikes booked in. Now I just need to find a bike, book the hotel and get some training in and start the fundraising.

We're raising money for two amazing Melanoma charities. If you'd like to donate you can click here.

Melanoma UK (patient support and advocacy group) and

Melanoma Focus (provide information, guidance and support for patients, carers and healthcare professionals).

So you have a little idea of where your money would go:
£10 could fund 3 skin cancer self-check cards to help people spot changes early.
£20 could fund an online accredited training course for beauticians and therapists to recognise warning signs.
£50 could fund a skin safety awareness talk to local groups, spreading vital knowledge.
£100 could help towards the cost of a mole mapping clinic, offering professional skin checks.

Donations to Melanoma UK also help us to invest in larger projects such as funding research.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Your support is hugely appreciated.