So we've decided to do it again, this time we're heading west to Dublin via the valleys of south wales raising money for Smile with Siddy a small Bristol based charity raising awareness and funding research (in the City) for Neuroblastoma, a cancer that affects children.

The first day of cycling is over a 100 miles with 8,000 sq ft of climbing and includes the Dragon route….which is one of the top 10 climbs in the UK.  The B2D cycling team have set themselves a target of raising £15,000 for Smile with Siddy, and would appreciate any donation, however small.

Smile with Siddy is a small Bristol based charity set up in memory of a young boy named Siddy.

He was born on the 13th of September 2011 and lived in Bristol with his parents and sister two doors from one of the group cycling. He was brilliant fun, always smiling, happy and full of life. On November 8th 2012 aged just 14 months Siddy was diagnosed with a form of cancer called Neuroblastoma. 

He had lots of scans and tests which showed he had a primary tumor in his lower abdomen and secondary tumors on his back and in his neck. The consultants at Bristol Childrens Hospital were confident he would make a full recovery and he started on a treatment plan they said would last about a year. 

At first everything seemed to be going well but around Christmas time test results showed that the chemotherapy wasn’t working, his tumors were not shrinking as hoped. The consultants switched to a stronger form of chemo but again test results showed that his tumors were actually growing. Eventually the size of the primary tumor in his abdomen meant that his lungs could no longer cope. Siddy passed away on the 28th of January.

Neuroblastoma is quite a rare cancer found in about 100 children per year, 30 of those 100 have a particularly aggressive type. It is very hard to spot in the early stages and is often misdiagnosed as something less serious. The aggressive type is particularly difficult to treat and often has a very poor prognosis.

 JLL is raising money for Smile with Siddy to fund more research into this aggressive form of cancer such as their research at Bristol University in partnership with Neuroblastoma UK.