Welcome and thank you for visiting my site dedicated to my journey with Tour De Cure and my personal journey to help raise money to help to cure cancer.
I have started training for the 2012 Tour and you will find my comments about that in my Blog – Click on the right to see the latest news.
You will find the blogs of my entire journey on the right or read on to find out why I ride to find a cure for cancer.
I wasnt ever a rider, I only took it up because I made a stupid bet on New Years Eve 2009 when I said that I would ride in Tour de Cure 2010. I didnt live to regret that drunken pledge but I didnt quite know what I was letting myself in for and the wonderful journey that I would undertake over the next few years.
It was the wee hours of the 1st of January 2010 that I started to realise the pledge that I would ride 1400km’s from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast and raise $20,000 for the cause started to sink in. Not only did I not own a bike but I hadnt ridden more than 20km in my life!
But I was determined to make a difference. My family had been touched with Cancer. My mother had died from Cancer when she was 49. My father and father in law are both survivers of prostate cancer and my Mother in Law has had almost 50 operations on skin cancers around her body.
The thing that made me think about finding a cure was our book keeper and close friend Kathy Parton had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer. This bought it even closer to me because she was part of our business family. Since then she has contracted advanced lung cancer and she is in the fight of her life. We are hoping that the next part of her life is comfortable and filled with family and friends.
My first Tour was in May of that year. I got my first bike, a Cannondale Six on the 18th of February and rode my first Tour de Cure from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast in May that year. I also reached my fundraising goal by raising $25000 in donations.
Here is a picture of Kathy and me at the end of my first Tour de Cure
The whole journey of the Tour De Cure is a wonderful one. The friendships that I have formed when training, leading up to the tour and in the actual tour are ones that remain today. The feeling of completing such an awesome challenge is one of pride and accomplishment. A feeling of doing something good for others.
2011 saw me again saddling up for the Tour. This time the challenge was to ride from Sydney to Melbourne (1400km). This ride would challenge most people, it wasn’t down the free-way it was through the Snowy Mountains! Some of the days were long (230km) some were steep (the Clyde Range) but we knew that whatever we were going through was nothing to what people with cancer go through so that made the challenge more rewarding when we rode into Melbourne.
Next year sees a new challenge. The route next year is an even bigger challenge. The task ahead is an epic route from Brisbane to Mission Beach, a journey of over 1650km in 11 days with back to back days of 256km (Day 4 – from Harvey Bay to Seventeen Seventy) and 228km (Day 5 – from Seventeen Seventy to Biloela). Thats nearly 500km in two days a feat that will challenge even the fittest amongst us.
So for those of you that have supported me in the past, THANK YOU but our journey is not over. For those of you reading this for the first time please, help me to help others and cure cancer. If you dont have anybody that you know that is effected by cancer, you are in the minority. Most people that I know have a family member, close friend or acquaintance that has cancer or has been lost from cancer. One day maybe you will even have cancer.
As I am writing this there is four people in my close circle of friends that are battling with cancer.
- Kathy our close friend who fought and beat breast cancer is now fighting Lung Cancer
- Rob our neighbour is also fighting lung cancer and
- Stacey our friend is fighting cancer in her esophagus
- David Tait a close friend of my brother who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Thank you for all your support that you have given me in the form of donations and encouragement, it is truly wonderful and deeply appreciated.
Since joining the Tour de Cure I have contributed to raising over 3.8 million dollars! Personally I have raised around $40,000 in two years.
All this money goes towards all the wonderful projects that we have supported this year
So many people lost to cancer. So many people living, fighting, struggling with Cancer. Some winning and some losing. We need to do something to cure cancer. This is my something.
The early morning training rides, feeling stuffed at the end of the day, sore body, heavy eyes ………………..its all worth it. The cause is just so worth it. This year as well as riding to cure cancer I am specificity riding for a cure for prostate cancer.
My Goal is
To do something to help win the fight against cancer.
To ride and raise money to help cure cancer.
So how can you help?
You can help in 4 ways.
- Click the donate button and help me to raise my goal of $20,000 for cancer research. (Click here to see where the money goes).
- Click here and share your story of how your family has been touched by cancer.
- Send an email to all your friends and ask them to visit www.mytourdecure.com.au and lend their support too.
- Support me on my ride. Leave me a message of encouragement, give me a call (0412840738), follow my blog or follow me on Facebook but most importantly please spread the word to all your friends and family so they can help too.
Thank to all the following supporters
RONALD MANSER nbss.com.au
Darren Jones whitebeech.com.au
Sarah Guilfoyle sgpromotions.com.au
Elaine Joughin whitelightpromotions.com
Kym James jamesauctions.com.au
Brian Hayes racingsecrets.biz
Judith McGoldrich judithmcgoldrich.com.au
Greg O’Shea axr.com.au
Georgie Le Poer Trench garvan.org.au
Cheryl Newsom inxcess.com.au
Greg greenbins.com.au
Mal Parker freezetec.com.au
John and Peta Haenke offshoreproductions.com.au
Rod GLOVER
Rod Punshon prodivecairns.com
Martin Phelan fluidcontrol.com.au
John Quee carcrashfires.com
Aphrodite Anderson
Jacqui Teague colourlogic.com.au
Denise Donati fssc.com.au
Leanne Tunny castorsandindustrial.com.au
Leisha Amos eaglefarmvet.com.au
Steve Gluhak uber.com.au
Colin Thwaites
Trevor Wistaff
John Margetts hookerboats.com
Jodi & Warren Harris
Kathy and Craig Smith noosacrest.com.au
Peter Brennan crane.com.au
Gordon Luke
Barry White executiveresidences.com.au
Tammy Fulcher tammys.com.au
Barry Barnes superyachtcareers.com.au
Allan Winter
Dario Pigozzo pigozzogroup.com.au
Andrew Sinclair sins.com.au
Mario Andrado gammawealth.com.au
Tony McIntosh distbris.com.au
Mark Harvey rams.com.au
Special Thanks to AussieHQ -
Regards,
Paul Egan
