For many young people living with cancer, the disease and the treatment can affect their neurological system, muscles, and their bones. They can experience weakness in their limbs, issues with their balance and suffer from fatigue.
Exercise while undergoing and following treatment is recommended, and there are great benefits to cycling. It is simple, effective, and accessible to most people if they have a suitable cycle.
So, for this event, we headed to the Lea Valley Velopark to meet 9 young people supported by the charity to fit them for their new bike, kindly gifted by our friends at O3e. Before they set off on their inaugural ride round the one-mile track, our biking instructor, Gerard, made sure that their new bike fitted them perfectly, making adjustments to their seat height and their handlebars. Gerard taught the young people how to look after their bike, fitting them with a bespoke lock, how to be safe as he fitted them with their new helmets, and the importance of ensuring they have sufficient energy before setting off.
Many of the young people were nervous as this was the first time they had ridden a bike since before their diagnosis, but with lots of encouragement from us, their family and their peers, they pushed themselves out of their comfort zone and started to take the first steps to getting their fitness levels back up.
It was a truly magical day, and there was a lot of emotion as the young people conquered their fears and started to take some very positive steps towards a future beyond cancer. Before heading home, happy and exhausted with their new bikes, the young people were set a collective challenge. Together, they will cycle the equivalent distance of the Tour de France, just over 2,100 miles. If you’d like to follow their progress, you can on our Instagram pages.
To O3e for their incredibly generous gifts of bikes, to Oliver Kay Produce for transporting the bikes, to Gerard McCann for his safety, and maintenance advice and to the funders who ensured we had a fantastic venue and some delicious refreshments, a HUGE thank you for helping us to support more young people overcoming the challenges of cancer.
