RTCC 2014 - Epilogue

Hi Guys,

This year we had 1093 riders raising over $4m for Peter Mac cancer research. Over the last three years the ride has raised $14.5m - an extraordinary amount.

This is my account of some of the highs, the lows, and the highs of participating in this year's Ride to Conquer Cancer. Its a little long, so if it risks being TL;DR (too long; didn't read), rest assured that I had a great ride again with a great bunch of people and I am very grateful to all who donated money to allow me to ride again.

RTCC 2014

Day 1: Home - Melbourne - Mornington - Somers: 145km

The Shade Seekers had planned their usual rendezvous at the outdoor basketball courts in the Albert Park (at the beginning of Pit Lane) for 6.30 am on Saturday morning. The night before I had packed my overnight bag and dropped it off at Grant's place to be taken down to Somers where the Shade Seekers would spend the Saturday night. Earlier on Friday evening I'd spent time attaching the various labels that my bike was meant to have to show that I was an official rider - the labels also give a great opportunity to call out support to people by their name.

Important tip for RTCC Riders - make sure the large label that goes under the top tube on your frame doesn't flap - annoying noise unless you're 5 years old, and even nastier risk of chaffing on the legs... Remembering this from the first year, I still managed to put the label on the wrong way round the first time and had to find new cable ties to secure it the right way round so that the front edge could be tied onto the down tube...

On Saturday morning I got up at 5 am, put on my current favourite nicks (bib cycle shorts), and pulled on my Shade Seeker top (working out how many layers to have and what to have on to start with is tricky with long rides that start at dawn and carry on into the afternoon - I went for no base layer but carrying a light wind/rain jacket). My breakfast was my usual a (very) large bowl of muesli and a pre-ride double strength instant coffee - rubbishy taste, but at least I'm only boiling the kettle and not running the (louder) coffee machine. Lights and Garmin GPS recharged the night before, I attached the various electronic bits, put my two bottles on the bike, and rode off in the chill dark at 5.45 am.  Its weird riding through the parts of the city that have a night life when its very early in the morning. Your just starting your day, and others are still spilling out onto the street finishing theirs.

I got to the basketball court early. Settled down to check any last minute messages and was soon joined by Ben Brady who was using this ride to try out yet another new bike layout. For the last two years he has headed off to Patagonia to ride soon after the RTCC. Last year he was testing out a cross country mountain bike (not a great success apparently), this year a much more road setup on a "Salsa" with panniers. He was trying out the panniers and bike to see how they would handle.

After a while we were joined by some more Shade Seekers, Stephen and David looking determined, Damien looking road-worthy, and Darren and Sharon on their very colourful, and very new, city cruisers.

But there was no support crew. A few phone calls discovered that Mark Shackleton has broken his chain on the way to the start. Mark has had a run of mechanical bad luck on each ride - this year was no exception and this wouldn't be his only bad luck for the ride. The support crew were busy making sure he would get to the start, so we walked around to the starting area.

Here's Ben wheeling the Salsa, with someone's suitcase added, to the start.

Packing for Patagonia

Once we got to the start, the Shade Seeker numbers started to grow, as did the rest with 1093 riders and lots of friends, family and support crews all around.

Sometime around 7.30am David Speakman (Chief Medical Officer and a founding rider of the Shade Seekers) gave his opening speech, followed by some very personal and very powerful stories told by Cancer survivors before we all, somewhat teary eyed, rode off just before 8 am.

The start of these mass events is always a slow affair, riders of mixed ability, large groups, and traffic meant that we all moved off and into Melbourne cautiously - encouraged on by many families and friends along the way.

Here's a few shots at the start:

Pink booties and lime green kit sure to get attention

Looking back at the field before the start

Don't knock those tights, they're worn by the impressive Vision Crusader's, and they're warm on a cold morning

By the time we reached Beach Road I was shivering with cold (it was 2 hours since I'd been riding at a pace that would keep me warm), and with Damien Kee on my wheel, I started to push a little harder to get warm, but still at a pace that was conversational with some riders at least. As the rhythm built, so did my pace and without realising I took Damien and I passed the first pit-stop and out towards the front of the riders.  We continued onto the second stop and decided to carry on as we were to lunch. Its difficult to know how hard to push when you're at the front, each rider find different elements difficult (hills are hard if you're heavier, wind is hard when you're a light weight and in front), but after one occasion where we split, we worked out a routine that if I was going too hard, Damien would ring his bell.

When we arrived at the lunch stop, we realised that we were the 4th and 5th riders there. Quite remarkable. As we were sitting down finishing our lunch, Mike Henderson and Andrew Wood arrived sporting their Shade Seeker tops. Now we were four.

We agreed to ride to the finish at Mornington before heading back over the other side of the peninsula to Somers. I headed off feeling strong still with the others happy to follow. Andrew Wood, sporting the yellow flag of a cancer survivor rode next to me for a while and I asked what his story was. He explained that 4 years ago he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. The early diagnosis and successful surgery meant that he was alive and well four years later. He suggested that he felt like a fraud riding with the flag even though he was still clear. Given the nature of the surgery, I thought that a remarkable statement. Cancer had caused him to reassess what he was doing, and he decided to quit his job at a dentist and enjoy the life he had left. His still enjoying it now (and he is the first to admit that he is lucky enough to be able to afford to do so). It seems to have given him a wicked sense of humour, or perhaps the feeling that he has the licence to use it...

Andrew and I arrived at the finish line as the first riders that day - which meant that we had our choice of a daunting 50 or so masseurs in the massage tent. We were told to take places at the back of the tent and were on the tables shortly before Damien joined us. These are my two favourite shots:

Andrew enjoying his massage

Damien having his leg pulled

Leaving the tent we found Mike sitting on the bench outside looking slightly shaken. He'd had a call telling him that one of our team, Mark Shackleton, had been knocked off his bike on the way down. Mark was heading to the Accident and Emergency department, apparently not too bad but having hit the road at something like 30km/h he wasn't in great shape.

I heard more details later in the evening. Mark had been riding on one of the long straight stretches of road on the peninsula that this year's course had taken, Roads with one lane in each direction and a narrow, course, gravel edge with a drop-off from the tarmac to the gravel. With local traffic and 90-100km/h speed limits and 1000+ riders this was a difficult section to ride. As I understand it, Mark was with a small group and was just finishing overtaking a rider as a car behind the group was beeping its horn. As Mark had pulled left having passed the last rider, the car went by and clipped Mark, sending him tumbling off his bike. Luckily there were witnesses who saw the incident and took the plate of the car as it sped on. Mark has a fractured humerus but is otherwise reasonably OK. Mark is a winner of the Life Scientist of the Year award, is at the forefront of Cancer Research and was riding selflessly for others and committing no road offence. If this was a deliberate or reckless act as alleged by witnesses, I can't imagine what would have been going through the driver's mind at the time. Mark is characteristically reasonable, as you can read and hear in the 3AW interview here. The car and driver have been traced and we hope that the legal system will do everything that it should.

Not yet knowing the full story, we four rode back across the peninsula to our homes for the night in Somers. The roads were the same single lane each way, 100km/h limit, with impatient, and sometimes aggressive traffic as we rode, single file, the 30 or so kms to Somers. One example was the shouting "bird" gesture flicking ute driver going in the opposite direction, who took offence at the sight of four cyclists daring to use the road. Thankfully we left the busy roads intact and enjoyed the last few kilometres to Somers, cycling as a well drilled team of four.

A great evening started with a welcome shower followed by lots, and lots, of really good food and cold beer, and finishing with drinks around Ben Brady's holiday home fire and a near instant sleep.
Here's the Strava map of the day.

Day 2: Somers - Arthurs Seat - Mt Martha - Melbourne - Home: 125km

Somers is a delightful place to stay, but was some 30km of busy roads from the start. Some opted to get a lift back to the start, others opted to ride on quieter roads from Somers, a few via Arthurs Seat (a local hill), and other more direct to rejoin the ride around Mt Martha. I joined the hill climbers of Ben, Damien, Andrew and David, with Sharon and Darren riding with us until they headed off to the main route.

Arthurs Seat has a steep side and less steep side. Our approach meant riding up the less steep part, and then down the steep part. A pleasant climb, and one where I had an amusing discussion with a senior rider (probably in his 70s or 80s), having ridden past him on my way to the T Junction and exchanging cheerful good-mornings, I waited for the others. A minute or two later he rides past me asking if I was OK - I think he thought I might have been going to hard... still it was fun telling the others that they were being outpaced by someone 20+ years their senior. Apparently he does the ride every weekend - good on him.

Here's a photo of us at the top next to someone else's nice bike, I'm sporting last year's shirt, the rest are in the latest version...

We then rode along the beach front boulevard, taking the coast road to Mt Martha. Along the way we practised a group rotation (outer right riders are gradually passing those on the left, pull over left as you get to the front and then relax as the others go past you. Repeat).

Mt Martha Coffee Break - Double Shot 3/4 lattes all round

We joined the main group somewhere near a pit-stop, refuelled with bars and water we climbed away from the Mt Eliza National Park - a tough climb for some of the field less used to riding.

From there it was mostly down-hill and then flat to the lunch stop at Mordialloc College - who's open grass field offered little shade, but food and a welcome respite. There we regrouped to form a team of 11 Shade Seekers.

All screened up in the Sun

From lunch we rode as a group of 11. Sticking together all the way to the finish line where we decided to cross in 3-4-4 formation - a classic for soccer, less so for cycling!

Here's a shot from the finish:

And here's the Strava map of Day 2

So there you have, the end of this years ride. I'm left uncertain as to whether to sign up again. I think I may well do so, a close friend and Shade Seeker rider was diagnosed with prostrate cancer just before the ride. He is early on his journey but the post-operation signs seem good and he, and his daughter, want to ride next year. I know I'd like to be there with them.

Look after yourselves and those around you and keep your eye (and mind) open for ways to enrich your story.

John.

19 days to go

Its been some 66 days since my last post and there are now only 19 days to go before the Melbourne Ride to Conquer Cancer 2014. This then will be my last update before the ride itself.

I've been touched by the generosity of everyone who has donated and has allowed me to ride again this year. You all have my sincere thanks. There is still time for those that want to donate.

We're all learning to live in our new reality since my mum's funeral in July. My dad and I are still hanging out on video calls as often as we can (it could be more often if you want Far). He's planning a trip to Denmark next month and has a reunion with his hill walking buddies in November. I'm now able to follow his dog walks on Strava (he's already broken into the top ten times on a few segments of his dog walks - I pity his dog keeping up with him!) He's also planning to visit the highest point of every county in Great Britain once winter is over - this means getting a camper van and taking the dog with him. I think he plans to take mum with him in a secured vase too. I think he's going to be OK - we all want him around for a long time to come.

The statistics speak for themselves, 1 in 2 Australians will contract cancer of some form. Minimise your risk, get regular health checks from a professional. Look after yourselves and those around you. Fund the research.

From a cycling perspective, I'm doing pretty well - although my daughter has asked that I spend at least one day of a training weekend at home rather than riding on Saturday and Sunday. I thought if I got home by midday she wouldn't realise I had been gone. I am of course delighted that my 16 year old daughter wants to spend more time with me. Can't wait to make her listen to all those 80's albums on my original turntable...

The Ride to Conquer Cancer will have me riding for two days on the weekend of October 25 and 26, each ride being over 100km in length (I think my daughter will forgive me this one weekend). Saturday 25 will take us down to the bottom end of the Mornington Penninsula, and then we return again to Melbourne on the Sunday. There will be several thousand riders,with their stories to tell, of friends, family, and their own personal battle.

Thank you for letting me ride again this year.

Melbourne is a capital of Cancer Research - its worth keeping it that way

The Melbourne Age's "Insight" section this Saturday included an article by Julie Milland that was originally published in The Citizen.
As well as carrying the story of a GBM patient "Paul", the article provides good insights into the who and how of Melbourne's current status as one of the World's leading centre's for cancer research.

You can read The Citizen article here:
http://www.thecitizen.org.au/features/cancer-trials-offering-hope-prolonging-lives

and The Age's carrying of it here:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/health/melbourne-is-capital-of-cancer-research-trials-20140904-10bdpf.html

The best research demands a supportive network of capabilities concentrated and connected in a way that enables the teams to develop and grow. Right now we have that in Melbourne and it is not only a benefit to us locally, the work and results being achieved here are beneficial on a global scale.
Let's keep it that way.

The end of a favourite chapter

[emailed 01/08/2014)

Hi All,

As I write this update I am sitting in the departure lounge at terminal 4 in Heathrow, heading back to Australia once again.

Some four weeks after my last post I received the call that I had been expecting but never wanted to arrive. At 6 minutes past nine in the evening of the 18th of July my mother passed away with my Father and Sister at her side. My sister called me a little while later - which was in the pre-dawn of Saturday morning for me in Australia. The last weeks were difficult for all concerned, but were made easier by the excellent care provided by the people at the Cranmere Court Care Home.

During this last week my father and I made a quick visit to the home to donate a few of the many house plants my mother had maintained and that would be too many for my father to remember while he has his gardening 'L' plates on. It was a pleasure to meet some of the people who had made my mother's last days easier, and reduced the burden on my family.

The funeral was on Wednesday with everything organised by my sister. I know understand why it means so much for the grieving family to have relatives and friends around them to share the stories and to make a hard day a little easier.

Watching the news this morning in London I saw that the announcement of a 300m GBP investment in genome research in the UK, targetting amongst other things the ability to identity and treat cancer in earlier stages with better outcomes. The politician claimed the UK to be leading the world in this race (I think the commonwealth games was adding some spin to the spin). This October I'll be proud to wear the colours of team Australia - but to be honest I don't mind who wins, because we will all win whichever team crosses this line first - and like the games themselves, there is respect and support amongst all those who play on this field.

Before I left for the UK last Saturday night I took the opportunity for one last long ride before a week off. It was a miserable dank "dreich" (in Scottish) affair, 130km ride - but the fastest I've ever made down from Port Melbourne to Frankston when I was hanging on with some tough riders, and took a turn at the front for a while. Leaving the summer warmth of England (no kidding, its warm and sunny here), I'm not sure I want to put the 14 separate items of clothing back on again to climb on the bike in the Melbourne winter, but it is good therapy and so long as keep the bike rubber side down and I can get back home early enough in the day, no harm comes of it. I'll be home late on Saturday night, and may be out early on Sunday morning, that's what jet-lag and a cycling problem will do to you.

Many many thanks to all those who have already donated to my ride this year. It means a lot to me and a lot to the people who matter in Cancer Research. I have reached the minimum level required to ride, but I'd like to set my sites much higher this year so those of you who were thinking of donating, or intending to donate, please do so.

Remember that you are the author of your own story. Make it a good one, and make sure you take the time to celebrate the stories of others you know and love.

Till the next time,

John.

Eva Papsø Phillips (Espersen): b.April 22 1937 - d.July 18 2014

Early in the pre-dawn morning of Saturday the 19th of July in Australia, my sister called me to that our mother had just passed away.

Although deeply sad, the news also offered a form of relief as the last few days and weeks had been especially tough on my mother and those around her. I was reassured to hear that both my sister and our father were coping well in the circumstances.

The funeral will be next week on Wednesday the 30th of July and I am travelling back to the UK this weekend. In an email from my father to those invited to the funeral I read that my mother had asked that people donate to the my rather than buy flowers. An act typical of my mother.

Amongst many things I learnt from my mother the importance of a loving nature, hard work, selflessness, a cool head in adversity, and a slightly cheeky sense of humour.

I hope I can teach my children as well.

I look forward to a time in the not too distant future when my father will be able to join us here in Australia for the road trip we've always promised ourselves around this great brown land.

Winter training - early, dark, mornings

Quick snapshot of rides this week:

Monday: Short commute on my old faithful XC bike. 12km, dawn there, dark back
Tuesday: 3 x Laps of the Kew Boulevard road then commute to work and return. 68km. 5.30am start
Wednesday: Ride up to Sassafras and return (straight to work). 71km. 5.51am start
Thursday: Down to Beach road and Mordialloc. 70km. 5.40am start.
Friday: (intended). Short commute. 12km.

Why the mid-week push? Blame the weather forecast, good for Tue, Wed and Thu. Rain forecast for Fri, Sat and Sun. Also means I might get to seem more of the family and our new dog over the weekend.

Still hoping to get 250km in before the end of the week, but I think that will mean doing a little something over the weekend.

I'm compensating to make up for some soft weeks recently. Over the previous three weeks I've only managed 139km, 152km, and 119km during each week, whereas the week of June 2 - 8 was 379km. Obviously a fair weather rider :)

This is what Sassafras looks like at dawn mid-week....

make your story a good one

Hi all,

Many thanks to all those who have donated already. As I write I am $20 from the minimum level of donations and $720 from my target. One of the rewards of participating in this ride is that I get to reach out to a great number of family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances who I've met over the years. Its not just wonderful to get donations, it's heart warming to receive replies and encouragement. It helps to hear and share stories with others.

A few days after my last post in May, one of my long-term friends from the UK contacted me. It was great to hear from Simon, it had been a long time since we had last been in touch. He's known me and my family for over 25 years as we initially closely shared our roller-coaster ride of life and then watched each other follow our paths from afar. He confessed that with each post he is concerned that this will be THAT post. Well this isn't that post Simon.

My visit last month was a wonderful opportunity to see my mother and family again while my mother was at home. The highlight from the trip was the trip to the Olympic Park complex in London. The week before we had made a clumsy effort of going out for car ride. With my mother's reduced mobility and our inexperienced efforts, we took nearly an hour to get from inside the house to inside the car and exhausted my mother in the process. We cut short our plans and made an extended loop in the car before returning home to repeat the process in reverse, this time with thankfully less drama. It was an interesting drive though, we got to see some of the meaningful places of my father's childhood, the roads he rode as a teenage cyclist, the hills that tested him and his colleagues, and the houses that he lived in. I was reminded how good we have it in Australia from a cycling point of view, those narrow hedge-lined roads are pretty, and pretty damn dangerous to ride along with the UK's heavy traffic. Despite this shattering experience my mother was adamant that we must go to the Olympic Park complex. After our efforts at the short trip, this looked like an attempt on Everest without oxygen. Still my incredibly organised sister managed to find a vehicle we could hire that could take a wheelchair and came with a ramp, and with that we set off on a day-trip to the Olympic Park. It wasn't easy, but then memorable things seldom are. The trip reminded us, should there ever have been any doubt, of my mother's indomitable will.

My mother was in hospital for a period shortly after my visit and is now amongst very caring nurses at St Christopher's Hospice. She is weaker but still with us. She has daily visits from my father and sister and her Danish relatives and friends, who haven't stopped their wonderful visits and are still planning more to come. A benign and beautiful bunch of Viking raiders if ever there was one.

I'll close with two thoughts. One is from a a TED talk by the philosopher Stephen Cave. In it he discusses the point at which we realise we are mortal and the stories we tell about what happens next. I won't repeat the talk here, you can find it in full on TED,. but his concluding advice resonated with me. Here is how the transcript of his talk ends:

Now, I find it helps to see life as being like a book: Just as a book is bounded by its covers, by beginning and end, so our lives are bounded by birth and death, and even though a book is limited by beginning and end, it can encompass distant landscapes, exotic figures, fantastic adventures. And even though a book is limited by beginning and end, the characters within it know no horizons. They only know the moments that make up their story, even when the book is closed. And so the characters of a book are not afraid of reaching the last page. Long John Silver is not afraid of you finishing your copy of "Treasure Island." And so it should be with us. Imagine the book of your life, its covers, its beginning and end, and your birth and your death. You can only know the moments in between, the moments that make up your life. It makes no sense for you to fear what is outside of those covers, whether before your birth or after your death. And you needn't worry how long the book is, or whether it's a comic strip or an epic. The only thing that matters is that you make it a good story

The second is from my close Aussie friend Grant whose world-recognised work as a cancer specialist got me on this ride three years ago.  Grant and I were talking about some recent media coverage for Peter Mac on an advance in cancer treatment. Grant's response was positive, but as he said, he's tired of small improvements, he wants a big step change. Something that dramatically improves the way we diagnose and treat cancer. I for one hope he gets the help he and his colleagues need to take that step. Your donations can make that happen.

Make sure you make your life a good story.

Stephen Cave and life as a book

Came across Shane Parrish's reference to Stephen Cave's interview with NPR (here) and TED lecture (here) on Shane's Farnam Street site.

Cave is the author of Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilization, an inquiry into humanity’s irrational resistance to the inevitability of death.

Shane paraphrases Cave's work in his blog in the following way:

Just as a book is bounded by its covers by a beginning and end, so our lives are bounded by birth and death. And even though a book is limited by a beginning and end, it can encompass distant landscapes, exotic figures, fantastic adventures. And even though a book is limited by a beginning and end, the characters within it know no horizons. 

They only know the moments that make up their story, even when the book is closed. And so the characters of a book are not afraid of reaching the last page. Long John Silver is not afraid of you finishing your copy of “Treasure Island.” And so it should be with us. Imagine the book of your life, its covers, its beginning and end, your birth and your death. You can only know the moments in between, the moments that make up your life. 

It makes no sense for you to fear what is outside of those covers, whether before your birth or after your death. And you needn't worry how long the book is or whether it’s a comic strip or an epic. The only thing that matters is that you make it a good story.

Hollowmen - really?

The Age newspaper (not it must be said a supporter of the Abbott government) published an article on the $20bn health fund.... funny but not flattering and to be honest, I hope they're wrong.

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbotts-hollowmen-moment-was-medical-research-fund-a-lastminute-distraction-20140603-39fl8.html

If we get a $20bn health research fund, what does that mean?

Having stated in my last post that there were no surprises expected in the new Australian Government's budget - they pull a $20bn health research fund rabbit out of the hat. Well I guess that's the nature of surprises, if you knew they were coming, it wouldn't be a surprise.

Other than making me swallow humble pie and retire my crystal ball, what does it mean for medical research an institutions such as Peter MacCallum? One early response I got when I asked the question was "the $20B is very welcome news for the sector and visionary in many ways as Australia plans for a post-resource boom economy. The money will gradually increase over the next 3-4 years and no doubt be very good news for Peter Mac, as Australia's leading cancer research group. However substantial funding is 4 years away (if its gets through the senate) and patients need advances now!"

One article written by Dan Harrison of the Sydney Morning Herald (online http://www.smh.com.au/national/new-20-billion-medical-research-fund-wonky-wedge-or-wonder-cure-20140517-38gss.html#ixzz32QnQpi94) gave some further consideration. While details are still being worked out, key take home messages seem to be:

• The money wouldn't be available immediately - the fund needs to grow up to $20bn and that isn't expected until 2020 and then the distribution made available is the interest on the capital, which would mean something like $500m in 2020 and $1bn in 2022.
• The distribution will be across a number of priority health priority areas (arthritis, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes, injury, mental health and obesity).
• It still needs approval and is being tied to the less politically palatable cost co-payments initiatives (such as the $7 fee for GP visits)

So nothing is certain yet, other than the fact that there is research that needs funding right now, and that events such as the ride to conquer cancer will still have a very important place in allowing Peter MacCallum the capacity and discretion to fund their medical research.

Travelling light

It's Mother's day here in Australia and Melbourne airport is surprisingly quiet, evidently not many people travel away on Mother's day. I'm here at the start of the long haul to London.

I'm staying for nearly two weeks on this trip, but travelling light with only one piece of hand luggage. This caused the Cathay Pacific guy at the check in desk to have a pleasant but possibly security triggered conversation with me. When I said I was travelling for family reasons he asked if it was to see my mother (it being mother's day), when I said 'yes' he said I was a good son to surprise my mother. Feeling that I might be getting too much praise, I explained that it wasn't quite a surprise and that she hadn't been too well recently. To which his reply was, "still a good son". Nice touch.

My mother is still at home being looked after by my dad, which is a great achievement by both of them. As we were warned, the steroids used to control the swelling from the tumour growth come with side effects that become increasingly apparent over time. In my mother's case it has significantly weakened her and caused swelling, but she is understandably proud to have regrown her hair. My father has put in a stair lift, a special bed, chair, grab rails around the house and they now have a wheel chair. As a finishing flourish, he's also installed a fish tank, with fish!

My sister will take a few days of her work while I'm over and apparently we aim to visit the site of the London Olympics. Maybe I should take a look at the velodrome... Been doing quite a few kilometres recently, but I don't think I'm quite ready... :)

Here in Australia we are only a couple of days away from our new government's budget. It's expected to be severe and no one is expecting grants for medical research, or even medical care, to increase. This means that funds from events like the ride to conquer cancer are ever more important to institutions such as the Peter Mac.

In my last mail out communication on my journey to the ride to conquer cancer, I mentioned that Sandra had asked the guests of her Great Gatsby themed 50th to donate money to my ride rather than buy presents. The generosity of our guests, and others who have donated separately, has seen me reach over 1/3 of the way to my target - but there is still a way to go.

Every little counts.

Til the next time,

John

Easter Monday Ride to Kinglake

Easter Monday Ride with Grant. Great weather, quiet traffic, at least until the return, and a family sized bowl of chips for a healthy snack on the way back.

The day started well with a spectacular dawn in Camberwell:

And then a great ride through to the Yarra Ranges.

Magic.

Joining the Latte Riders for a spin down the Mornington Peninsula

Invited by a work colleague to join his Latte Riders crew for a ride to Sorento and back. You can read more about the Latte Riders on their facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/LatteRiders and their website here: http://www.latterider.com

Grant, Tim and I joined them for a showery ride down to Dromana (in Grant and my case at least) and return, all for the fun of it, and the achievement of this month's Strava challenge!

Favourite summer training ride shot

My favourite on bike shot riding with Tim and Grant one early morning up to #Sassafras in the #Dandenongs , dawn strikes as Grant rides the 1/20 (road from Basin up to Sassafras)

John's Ride to Conquer Cancer 2014: Rolling...

Hi All, If you are receiving this email in error, and/or don't want to receive any more emails, please accept my apologies and use the unsubscibe link at the bottom of this message. This is my first email of my journey towards the 2014 Ride to Conquer Cancer, a charity ride in October of this year. I signed up for the 2014 ride after a roller-coaster of experiences leading upto and participating in the 2013 ride. Now its April, the clocks have gone back (in Australia), and its time to get serious again. Those of you who were receiving my messages from previous years will know that in order to participate in the ride I need personally to raise over $2,500 in donations to the charity. All money donated goes to fund cancer research at The Peter Mac, Australia's only dedicated cancer hospital. In the previous two years, through the generosity of the people on this list, I have been lucky enough to have exceeded this amount and ridden in each of the previous events. I thank all the previous donors for their generosity and those that have already donated to this year. All donors will get a tax receipt through the system and, if they choose, their name (and any message), on the honour roll on the site. I will also send a personal note of thanks to all donors. As before, I'm using an email address list collected from my email and social network accounts and the charity's own email system. I intend to send about one message a month upto the October ride date and I hope to make each message have at least some interest for readers. Unfortunately it's text only with this system - so I've created a blog that will allow me to provide some more colour and photos. The blog is here: http://rtcc2014.blogspot.com.au/, I'll also use the hashtag #rtcc2014 on LinkedIn, Google+, instagram and facebook when I remember to post stuff... This year my fund raising has got off to a great start. A few weeks ago, my wife, Sandra, had a big birthday party (marquee tents in the garden, fancy dress, loud dancy music, the whole bit) and very generously suggested that guests could donate to my participation in the ride instead of buying her a present. This has given me a fantastic flying start but there is still a long way to go. Those of you who were reading my emails last year will also know that just before the ride last year my participation become a close family matter. On September the 3rd 2013, my mother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer and given 3-9 months to live. As I write this message she is still very much with us, living at home with my Father in the UK. Whilst easily tired and increasingly affected by the steroids used to suppress the symptoms, she remains very much the same person, including her courage, love of life, and gentle sense of humour. My Father has picked up domestic skills that have far exceeded everyone's expectations, including his own and now spends time during our frequent skype sessions talking about ways to make broccoli interesting. This, I wasn't expecting. My mother is Danish, and I think all of her relatives (which seems to be about half of what is a small country) has visited her over the last few months, some of them more than once. In October of last year, her immediate family (including my Aussie contingent) gathered to spend a fabulous week in the UK. Sandra and I and our children have very fond fond memories of that time. Since then we have been keeping in touch with Skype and Google Hangout sessions several days a week. In the time since September I've learnt much about my mother and her (and my) family, and I am grateful for this time and the time we still have. Participating in this ride, and receiving personal messages from many people on this list has made me realise that so many of us have a story to tell about how they and those around then have been affected by Cancer. All I can say is I wish you all well and that you make the most of the time with those you love. In terms of cycling, I've been doing a lot of riding since the last Ride to Conquer Cancer. I think I will have clocked up something like 12,000 kms over the last 12 months, more than either of our two cars. I have also ridden up each of the Victorian "7 Peaks" involving numerous 5.30am starts. Much of this has been in the Shade Seeker team gear as I have ridden with one or more other members of The Shade Seekers (the Ride to Conquer Cancer team that I am lucky enough to be in). You can see some of the photos through links on my blog site and The Shade Seekers site itself is here: www.theshadeseekers.net Sandra thinks I'm addicted to cycling, and I'm beginning to worry when I recognise parts of myself in YouTube comedy cartoons like "I am a cyclist", http://youtu.be/jnr19fc7zsA, 7 minutes of painfully accurate comedy (language warning for those sensitive souls on this list). Until the next time. John. Click here to visit my personal page on the charity site. If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address: http://cfrau.convio.net/site/TR?px=1124207&pg=personal&fr_id=1141&et=oBn0G0KNDaUVujwi_XysOw&s_tafId=24477 Click here to view the team page for The Shade Seekers If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address: http://cfrau.convio.net/site/TR?team_id=12114&pg=team&fr_id=1141&et=m9tIF90kQYQnV7dsQrhUSA&s_tafId=24477