Riding 100 miles in London for Bloodwise!

Back in July 2015 I had just finished another gruelling cycle of high dose chemotherapy which as a Leukaemia patient means spending around a month in hospital.

My husband had signed up for the Prudential Ride London before my shock diagnosis for the charity Children with Cancer as close friends of ours had lost their beloved son to this.  At the time when he had registered we never dreamed what lay ahead, planning a family weekend in London and booking a hotel.

When the time came my husband took my daughter with his sister and family while I stayed at home with a friend looking after me.  I remember speaking to him after he'd finished and he sounded really flat as I wasn't there to meet him. We were both really emotional but neither cried probably not wanting to upset the other!

So fast forward through the most traumatic year of our lives to the Prudential London 100 2016 and here we are together as a family.  I think we are still a little shell shocked from it all as my diagnosis was so sudden and I'd only been unwell for a couple of weeks.

We went to the Excel centre the day before to register where we listened to Sir Chris Hoy chatting about cycling and had the opportunity to meet him at the end.  

 

Meeting Cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy

While waiting for my husband on the Mall, there was a great atmosphere with a DJ playing brilliant tunes!  I had a great time dancing around embarrassing my daughter and nephew, it struck me that I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I've felt relaxed and really laughed since my diagnosis. I find myself holding back my emotions...not daring to be happy again in case I relapse, I cannot let myself believe that I will truly be ok.  Everything gets so serious and you get used to seeing everyday as a struggle.

  

We were approached by a French lady as she saw my daughters Bloodwise t-shirt and although she didn't speak much English she was able to communicate that she understood what it meant and had been touched by blood cancer.

The trusty steed!

Outside Buckingham Palace after completing the Ride London

When we at Buckingham Palace another cyclist came up to us as he's spotted our Bloodwise tops and told us he does triathlons etc for Bloodwise, it was lovely to chat to him.  Although I saw lots of Bloodwise riders while waiting on the Mall we didn't see anymore after this and unfortunately we were unable to go to the after party.  Next year we will definately be going as we'd love to meet others who've been through what we have.

Very important to check your Strava after a big ride!

Later on once my husband had recovered and we'd had something to eat we were in Leicester Square with my family when my daughter was approached by a man who it turned out had lost a close friend to blood cancer.  He'd noticed that she was wearing a Bloodwise t-shirt and wanted to say thank you, it was heartwarming to be able to share stories and even though his wasn't a positive one I am glad we were able to tell him that we are doing all we can to beat blood cancer.

My husband was really happy with his time and will be signing up for next year, since he's done it several of his cycling buddies have told us they want to sign up for next year and will be cycling for Bloodwise too!  Words cannot express how much this means to me.