Preparing for an Amazing Journey

The rubber hits the road today.

As I’ve mentioned before, next month I’ll be joined by ten other cyclists for a ride from Albany to Perth, honouring those who have battled cancer and the many more who have journeyed alongside a loved one who has faced this terrible disease. I’ll broadcast my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM from a different town each morning before we jump on our bikes to ride to our next destination.

We’re just under a month away from the start of the ride and while everyone has been training for weeks, today is the first of our combned training rides. Many in the team will meet each other for the first time.

It won’t be a long or a fast ride but I’m really looking forward to seeing some connections develop that will help create a real team dynamic.

As well as getting ready to cycle over 500 kilometres next month, we’re all raising money for Cancer Council Western Australia and so while you may not be able to join our ride you can certainly help us reach our fundraising goals.

The team is hoping to raise over $15 000 for Cancer Council WA.

My personal goal is $1000. That means that I need 10 people to donate $100 or perhaps 20 to donate $50.

Can I ask you to consider donating $100 or $50 to help those facing cancer through Cancer Council WA? I know that not everyone can afford to give so generously so please feel free to give whatever you can. Every amount of $2 or above is tax deductible in Australia and will make a difference for so many.

You can donate directly by following this link.

The link will take you directly to the Cancer Council’s secure site. If you do donate to support me, can I ask that you leave a message on the site to tell me that you’re supporting me so that I can track those sponsoring my efforts? Alternatively you can email me to let me know you’ve donated.

If you know anyone in any of the towns along the way who you think would be a good contact, please let me know. If you can think of any other way you can help us with the event, please contact me.

Help spread the word.

I’d also ask you to share the link to this post through your blog or whatever other means you have available. At the bottom of this post are buttons for sharing the details on StumbleUpon, Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, Digg Reddit or even emailing the post to others. Just click your preferred button (or all of them) to get the word out.



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What’s Your Cancer Story?

If it hasn’t touched your life yet, I can almost guarantee that it will.

We don’t like to talk about cancer so we can sometimes start believing that we’re alone in facing its cold hand. The reality is that since I’ve started talking to others about cancer I haven’t encountered even one person who hasn’t been personally affected in one way or another.

With that in mind I’m determined to do something about cancer and the grip it has on so many lives.

What’s your story?

Please use the comments section of this post to share your story. Have you been touched by cancer? Are you battling cancer now or beaten it in the past? Does a loved one have cancer? Have you lost a friend? If you’d rather not leave your story in the comments section of this post, you can go to my contact page and send me an email.

Help spread the word.

I’d also ask you to share the link to this post through your blog or whatever other means you have available. At the bottom of this post are buttons for sharing the details on StumbleUpon, Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, Digg Reddit or even emailing the post to others. Just click your preferred button (or all of them) to get the word out.

I’m about to undertake a bike ride of over 500 km to raise funds for Cancer Council Western Australia.

I’ll be joined by ten other cyclists and each morning for a week I’ll be sharing cancer stories on my 98.5 Sonshine FM radio programme before hopping onto my bike just after midday to cycle to the next town.

Here’s the itinerary:

Monday 15th November 2010: Albany to Cranbrook 91 km

Tuesday 16th November 2010: Cranbrook to Katanning 80 km

Wednesday 17th November 2010: Katanning to Wagin 55 km

Thursday 18th November 2010: Wagin to Pingelly 100 km

Friday 19th November 2010: Pingelly to York 87 km

Saturday 20th November 2010: York to Perth 97 km

TOTAL: 510 km

The team is hoping to raise over $15 000 for Cancer Council WA.

My personal goal is $1000. That means that I need 10 people to donate $100.

Can I ask you to consider donating $100 to help those facing cancer through Cancer Council WA? I know that not everyone can afford to give so generously so please feel free to give whatever you can. Every amount of $2 or above is tax deductible in Australia and will make a difference for so many.

You can donate directly by following this link.

The link will take you directly to the Cancer Council’s secure site. If you do donate to support me, can I ask that you leave a message on the site to tell me that you’re supporting me so that I can track those sponsoring my efforts? Alternatively you can email me to let me know you’ve donated.

If you know anyone in any of the towns along the way who you think would be a good contact, please let me know. If you can think of any other way you can help us with the event, please contact me.



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Riding for Cancer 2010

I’ll be riding my bike with a little more purpose in the coming months as I start preparing for a ride from Albany to Perth this November.

The ride follows the success of last year’s ride from Perth to Albany.

Last Year’s Ride

In February 2009 my wife’s sister passed away at the age of 41 from cancer.

In the weeks leading up to her death I was throwing an idea around for a bike ride from Perth to Albany. The ride would take my morning radio programme on the road to broadcast from a different town each day.

I wanted to give people who had been touched by cancer a chance to tell their story. Whether they’d lost a loved one or survived cancer, I wanted people to have the opportunity to break the silence and let people know that they’ve been through some deep waters. I wanted others who have been touched by cancer to know they’re not alone.

That ride happened in October last year and was very successful in so many ways.

As well as giving people opportunity to tell their story we raised around $15 000 for Cancer Council Western Australia.

Ride for Cancer 2010

So now we’re doing it all over again but in the reverse order. We’ll be cycling from Albany to Perth with the event taking place from the 13th to the 20th of November.

I have a number of cyclists ready to take part and once again I’ll broadcast my radio programme each morning before hopping onto my bike just after midday to cycle to the next town.

The task now is to finalise the team of cyclists and support crew. I’m hoping that we’ll have around ten to twelve riders. We’ll be followed by support vehicles which will carry all our gear.

If you’re part of a business that would like to partner with us on the journey, I’m looking for some sponsors for the cycling jerseys. There are different levels of sponsorship for various sized logos on the jerseys.

I also need your story. Have you been touched by cancer? Are you battling cancer now or beaten it in the past? Does a loved one have cancer? Have you lost a friend? If you’d rather not leave your story in the comments section of this post, you can go to my contact page and send me an email.

Sometime soon I’ll let you know how you can donate to Cancer Council Western Australia in support of the ride.



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Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea

Australia's Biggest Morning TeaAustralia’s Biggest Morning Tea is one of Cancer Council’s leading fundraising events and the largest, most successful event of its kind in Australia. It began in 1994 and since then over $70 million has been raised.

You can play your part by hosting a morning tea for your friends, family or work colleaugues and raising funds to help the fight against cancer.

The official date for Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea is Thursday the 27th of May, but you can host an event any time this month.

Statistics show that 1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 85 so the need is urgent.

Events Manager from Cancer Council Western Australia, Sascha Arnold, was my guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM this morning. We talked about the work of Cancer Council and how people can get involved in Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea.

Just click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post to hear our conversation.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR170510_1057.mp3]

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Cycling to fight cancer

daffodil.jpg(I really need your help to get the word out about this. Please read and act on the ‘Help spread the word’ section of this post.)

It all begins tomorrow. I’ll be one of seven cyclists who will start riding from Perth to Albany, a distance of over 500 km. It’s all for a cause that touches most of our lives.

We don’t like to talk about cancer so we can start believing that we’re alone in facing its cold hand. The reality is that since I’ve started talking to others about it I’ve only encountered one person who hasn’t been personally affected by cancer.

Back in February my wife’s sister passed away at the age of 41 from cancer. It wasn’t the first time that our family had journeyed with loved ones facing cancer.

I believe that it’s time to give people who have been touched by the many forms of this terrible disease a chance to tell their story.

Each morning for a week I’ll be sharing cancer stories on my 98.5 Sonshine FM radio programme before hopping onto my bike just after midday to cycle to the next town.

Cycling to make a difference.

During the ride we’ll be raising money for Cancer Council Western Australia. I’ve spent some time checking out the services they provide and I can assure you that their work is absolutely vital.

Click here if you’d like to donate through a secure website. Your donation will make a big difference, no matter how big or small.

Help spread the word.

I need a huge favour. I’m begging you to share the link to this post through your blog or whatever other means you have available. To make it easy you can simply click the following links to share on Facebook or Twitter.

Here’s the itinerary:

Saturday 17th October 2009: Perth to York – 97km

Sunday 18th October 2009: Rest Day

Monday 19th October 2009: York to Pingelly – 87 km

Tuesday 20th October 2009: Pingelly to Wagin – 100 km

Wednesday 21st October 2009: Wagin to Katanning – 55 km

Thursday 22nd October 2009: Katanning to Cranbrook – 80 km

Friday 23rd October 2009: Cranbrook to Albany – 91 km

TOTAL: 510 km

If you’d like to donate towards a wonderful cause, just click this link.



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