The Prostate Cancer Charity Tourride

Many of last year’s participants had been personally touched by prostate cancer, be it themselves or a friend or relative. The Prostate Cancer Charity's Tour Ride gave them the perfect opportunity to help spread awareness of the disease and to raise vital funds for the Charity at the same time. Here are the stories of some of last year’s top supporters.

Peter Moss

Callington man, Peter Moss, together with his son, Richard, and grandchildren Charlotte, ten, and Cameron, nine, was inspired to take on last year’s London Tour Ride in support of the Charity after being treated with prostate cancer two-years-ago. Peter made fundraising a family affair and together they raised  £1,800 for cycling the official Tour of Britain route.

Speaking about the ride, Peter, who was cheered on from the sidelines by his wife Kathryn and other family members, said: “It was a beautiful day and the ride was fantastic - the four of us really enjoyed it and it was just brilliant to do something together as a family.  It was great to be part of such a large group all cycling for the same cause.  We’d really like to say a big thank you to everyone who has been so generous and given us so much support.

Simon Hobbs

Simon Hobbs, from Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, decided to saddle up and take on the 161km Stoke-on-Trent Tour Ride in support of The Prostate Cancer Charity after seeing a work colleague diagnosed with the disease. Simon was one of 1,800 people to take part in the Stoke-on-Trent Tour Rides and raised more than £3,600 by pedalling a challenging route across the Staffordshire countryside.

“I always cycled quite a lot as a kid but never really did anything too serious. My brother recently bought a road bike, and I decided to get one so that I could go cycling with him.  I wanted to do the Tour Ride to set myself a challenge and to also raise money for The Prostate Cancer Charity to show my support for my colleague and all of the other men out there who are affected by the disease. The route wasn’t too bad, although the last part was the most difficult as I was expecting the course to flatten out, but still stayed quite hilly. All in all it was a fantastic event and a great day of cycling,” he said.

Michelle MacDonald

Richmond mum, Michelle McDonald, signed up to do the London Tour Ride alongside her husband Andy and four-year-old son, Cameron, in memory of her father, whom she lost to prostate cancer two years ago. Michelle rallied friends and family to dig deep in sponsorship to raise more than £900 for cycling the 12km Tour Ride.

Speaking about the ride, Michelle said: “As it would have been dad’s birthday on 21st September, I decided I really wanted to do something in his memory to mark it. I saw on The Prostate Cancer Charity’s website that there were quite a lot of cycling events taking place in September and decided that the London Tour Ride was a distance Cameron, Andy and I would all be able to manage, so didn’t hesitate to sign up. The day was sunning and bright, which made the ride exhilarating and such a fitting tribute to dad.”

Pete Richardson

Five employees from a Kidsgrove based manufacturing company, together with 15 of their friends and family, each tackled one of three distances at The Prostate Cancer Charity’s Tour Ride in Stoke-on-Trent.  The 20-strong team was brought together by Pete Richardson from Nottingham, who was inspired to take on the full 161km distance, after watching Tour of Britain coverage on television last year.

Speaking just moments after crossing the finish line, Pete said: “I’d been chatting with one of the guys at work about last year’s Tour Ride, when we decided to put a team together. This year’s ride didn’t fail to disappoint – it was fantastic. As I cycle quite a lot anyway, I was really keen to take on the same route as the professional cyclists had done just a few weeks earlier in the Tour of Britain. It was a tough course with a great atmosphere at the finish line. Some of the group have been riding together for about three years and have done quite a few sportives, but the Tour Ride was definitely the best organised.”