When Richard’s mum passed away from secondary breast cancer, he chose to honour her memory by cycling for Breast Cancer Now.
When Richard’s mum passed away from secondary breast cancer, he chose to honour her memory by cycling for Breast Cancer Now.
Cycling is like therapy
I originally got into cycling to become healthier. I’m not really a keen runner, but cycling is always something I’ve enjoyed doing - especially the longer distances - and setting myself some goals and achievements and some very difficult challenges was something I wanted to aim towards.
But now, one of the things I enjoy most about it - whether it’s training or long-distance challenges - is that I can just get out and be away from everything. I can switch off. And sometimes, in those moments, it feels like I’m cycling with my mum. It’s quite therapeutic.
It keeps my mum’s memory alive
Deep down, the cycling that I do and the fundraising that comes with it is all about keeping my mum’s memory alive. Whether it’s bake sales or raffles at work, through to the cycling long distance challenges for Team Now – it's really about my mum, and about her values.
Of course, I'd very much like her to be at the start and the finish line. But in a way I feel that she is.
She supported me at previous fundraising events that I've done in the past, so I have no doubt that she would be there cheering me on. I think she’d be very proud of what I'm doing – both in her memory and for others.
I’m looking forward to fundraising even more
In 2019, I raised around £2,500 for Breast Cancer Now. In 2020, my goal is to reach £10,000.
I think it’s achievable. I've got quite a few things planned to try and achieve the goal – such as bucket collections, packing bags at supermarkets, bake sales, raffles, tombolas, quiz nights. Basically anything I can do to not only raise awareness but also drive fundraising.
We’ve even organised pub crawl scavenger hunts through friends and family which have proved popular!
Raising money and doing these events for Breast Cancer Now means that I can hopefully help others who, like my mum, will get breast cancer. But hopefully, they’ll be able to catch it earlier.
No challenge is too hard
To anyone else thinking of raising money for Breast Cancer Now, I would say: don’t delay.
The amount of time and effort put into Breast Cancer Now is truly remarkable, and they will support you every step of the way. Even if you think the challenge is beyond you, it won’t be with the amount of support you get.
And when you finally achieve your goal on race day or ride day, you will look back and think you made the right decision.
Be a part of something big. No matter what you choose to do, by joining Team Now you will be making a huge difference.