On behalf of Kieran and myself, I wish to say a huge big thanks to all
that have very kindly donated. Your comments and lovely words have really meant a lot to us. Me and Kieran successfully completed Parchel, we cycled happily
with lots of highs and not many lows from the centre of Paris to Maggie’s in
Cheltenham, 280 miles covered. A great father and son adventure that we will
both remember for ever. We were greeted with a warming welcome home party at Maggie’s where we appreciated all your kind support and well wishes.

However, Parchel is not yet finished as my work colleagues wish to
continue to support raising money for Maggie’s through this Employee Ride.

GE Aviation Employee Charity Ride

Building on Martin’s successful Parchel (Paris to
Cheltenham) cycling challenge, his colleagues at GE Aviation really wanted to
get involved in fundraising and show their support. A 100 mile “Four Choirs”
charity bike ride has been arranged on the 5^th July, to continue fund
raising for Maggie’s cancer care. This charity cycle ride will involve approximately 30 GE
Aviation employees cycling from the site in Bishops Cleeve, near Cheltenham,
and will be a circular route calling at Tewkesbury Abbey, Worcester, Hereford
& Gloucester cathedrals. Including the fabulous amount already raised by Martin, our
GE Aviation employee target this year is to raise a minimum of £5,000 for
Maggie’s, so your support for this great charity is really appreciated. See photo of the GE Aviation charity ride to the national
arboretum memorial last year, also in aid of Maggie’s cancer care. Let’s hope
the weather is as favourable for this year’s event.

Thank you in advance for any donations you can offer.
The
GE Aviation Charity Bike Ride Team

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My name is Martin and I have cancer.
From the 16th - 19th May, I am going to cycle unsupported with my son from Paris to Cheltenham, raising funds for Maggie’s.

It was December 2017 that I was diagnosed with Metastatic Colon Cancer. My cancer is stage IV and my treatment is chemotherapy, every two weeks for the rest of my life.

There are tough times during my chemotherapy treatment and the side effects of the drugs require continuous management. Some days are harder than others. Before my cancer diagnosis at 50, I had lived a healthy and active lifestyle.
So why shouldn’t I continue? Cancer doesn’t have to stop me. I soon realised that with a positive attitude, anyone can continue to live life to the full and achieve goals and ambitions that initially seem too far out of reach. Of course cancer has changed my life but being positive and trying to continue my life as normal as possible, is something that I’m striving for. But I don’t want it to be too normal...

So with that in mind, I have decided to cycle unsupported from Paris to Cheltenham. Along with my son, Kieran (aged 16), we’ll take on this unique challenge together. A father and son adventure. Pushing ourselves over a distance of approx 500km, I want to show him, our family, our friends and anyone else who’ll listen, that getting cancer is not a reason to stop.

Training for this ride is difficult. Scheduling it in between my on-going chemotherapy cycles and fatigue/energy levels that the treatment puts upon me can be hard and often hurts. But continuing to be active and maintain a healthy fitness level, helps with my mental and physical attitude. It keeps me living my life as normal as possible.

I decided to raise funds for Maggie’s because they are a fabulous local cancer centre that provide free practical, emotional and social support, for all cancer patients, families and friends associated with any aspect of cancer.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and for your generous donations. If you require any further information please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I also want to take this opportunity to say how grateful I am to all the staff at Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon Hospitals who continue to provide me with excellent treatment. Thank you.

Martin

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