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End to end for Prostate UK - 27-04-2009

End to End for Prostate UK – May 2009.

Peter King 

Executive Director, British Cycling

Five years ago, after 18 months of inexplicable symptoms and several tests I was diagnosed with aggressive and advanced cancer of the prostate and initially given only a 10% chance that surgery would rid me of the disease and only a 25% chance that surgery and radiotherapy would be successful. In the event, I was introduced to the man who I now know to be a world leader in prostate matters, Professor Roger Kirby, and at very short notice he performed surgery to successfully remove my prostate and with it all signs of cancer. Regular testing since that fateful time have indicated no return of the disease and, at the same time, my general health has gone from strength to strength.

In 2004 I promised Roger that I would celebrate the first five years of my new life by undertaking a serious cycle ride to raise funds for the charity of which he is President and to which I probably owe my life. I have therefore decided to do an End-to-End (Land’s End to John O’Groats) ride at the end of May this year.

For those who do not know, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer to affect men in the UK. Over 35,000 men are diagnosed with the disease each year. 10,000 men die of prostate cancer each year – the equivalent of one man every hour.

Prostate UK is the only national charity dealing with all forms of prostate disease, benign and malignant. One in two men will suffer from a prostate disease at some stage in their lives. Prostate UK seeks to limit the damage this causes by raising awareness, providing information, funding research and training medical professionals. This is done without any government funding but since 2000 the charity has sponsored some 120 projects costing over £3.4m.

In order to maximise both the challenge and the revenue I intend to do the ride without a following car and using public transport to get to Land’s End at the start and home from John O’Groats at the finish. I plan to take 8 days over the ride, commencing on May 22^nd and covering approximately 850 miles in total. I will stay at hotels along the way and I hope that friends and colleagues will turn out to support and encourage me, to ride some stretches with me and to deliver clothing and equipment to some of the hotels.

I have set up a website at www.justgiving.com/peterking2 for those who wish to support me financially. I am also looking for support in kind with equipment, energy food/drink, hotel accommodation etc from business associates and colleagues.

My provisional timetable for the ride is as follows:

Friday May 22^nd – Land’s End to Exeter

Saturday May 23^rd – Exeter to Gloucester

Sunday May 24^th – Gloucester to Warrington

Monday May 25^th – Warrington to Carlisle

Tuesday May 26^th – Carlisle to Stirling

Wednesday May 27^th – Stirling to Aviemore

Thursday May 28^th – Aviemore to Helmsdale

Friday May 29^th – Helmsdale to John O’Groats

I have set a target of £5,000 for this fundraising mission - £1,000 for each year of my renewed life - but I actually hope to raise significantly more than that for the vital work of the charity whose President gave me a new lease of life, without which I might not now even be able to contemplate riding a bike at all.

Commercial supporters:

Assos

DHL

Garmin

Pinarello

Rudy Project

Science in Sport

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