Despite none of us having ridden bikes for more than ten years, myself (Lisa) and 6 of my friends (Ellie, Jerome, Charlotte, Raji, Reg & Sherilyn), are undertaking a 400 mile bike ride in aid of LOROS & Macmillan Cancer Support. We will be setting off from Leicester and cycling to Paris over 4 days commencing on the 9th September.
The two charities are exceptionally close to our hearts - we are all aged between 23 & 28, and three of us have lost our Mums to cancer in recent years.
Being the positive people that we’ve always been, and having had the privilege of being raised by our amazing Mums, the loss of them inspired us to show people that even though it is a tough thing to go through, you can turn something bad into a positive and give something back, which would make them very proud of us.
We have been training so hard, encouraging and supporting each other, even though two of us (originally from Oadby & Scraptoft) are living in London and the rest are living in different areas around Leicester (Oadby, Thurnby Lodge, Thurmaston & Beaumont Leys). We’ve tried our hardest to get together as much as possible to go for long bike rides regardless of having completely different work schedules.
Lisa said, “Since my Mum passed away almost 7 years ago, I have wanted to do something, anything, to be able to give something back to LOROS after the amazing way they looked after her and our family.
"My Mum spent the last week of her life there & I wouldn't have wanted her to be anywhere else. I slept over twice and was offered food and drink every time, even though I wasn't a patient. If Mum experienced any sort of pain, a nurse would be there in a shot to ease it. The way they looked after her, with so much care, you could just tell that everyone genuinely cared for all the patiets and their families.
"We thought Mum was going to be in there over Christmas and they were going to put on Christmas dinner for all five of us; it was no problem at all for them, they said!
"Unfortunately she passed away 3 days before Christmas so we never made that dinner, but the ongoing support that LOROS gave to me and my family was amazing. It was just so reassuring to see the care that is given to their patients; I have close friends who've also had family members in LOROS and they too have nothing but praise for them!
"Since I found out that LOROS relied on charity funding, it has been my main goal to really try to help and this bike ride is the start of much more to come. I think my Mum would be so proud of us all for doing this and she is going to be my strength to get through it!”
Ellie said, “When my mum was diagnosed with a brain tumour my life and those of my 3 sisters, came crashing down.
"She went through numerous courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy - it was a hideous time but Mum stayed strong and kept our lives as "normal" as possible. This was helped greatly by LOROS’ weekly counselling sessions; she always seemed to have that spark back after a session of off-loading & her wicked sense of humour would shine through.
"Mum created a gang of girls that she filled with love, affection and confidence and she now live on through our memories. We are motivated and inspired to do anything and everything we want to, so that's what I'm going to continue to do.
"With the love and support of our amazing friends (some of whom are joining us on this bike ride), our incredible families and the memories of our strong, inspiring, beautiful mothers, we believe that anything is possible & this is just the beginning of our fundraising efforts in memory of our mothers".
The LOROS fundraising team wish you all the very best of luck and are looking forward to hearing about your journey - don't forget to keep us updated on our facebook and twitter pages!
If you would like to sponsor the group, please visit their justgiving page here
