*****NEWS FLASH *****17 October 2011*****
Well it took a while but it's finally done and the edited videos of our ascent & descent of Mont Ventoux can be viewed by following the links on our Moonfruit website (links shown at the bottom of this page). We had a fantastic day, the weather really couldn't have been better and the views particularly of the Alps to the east were vast - 150 miles at least. There was an Adecco Win4 Youth event taking place on the same day which involved 150 riders from all over the world and a huge number of supporters on the roadside. These supporters grouped into 5 or 6 teams provided great support for all riders on the mountain that day, including us.
Reaching the top felt like a great sense of achievement and the reward was the tremendous whiz down the mountain followed by a huge bowl of pasta, eaten al fresco under the cloudless provencal sun in the beautiful town of Sault. One of life's great days.
Thank you to our supporters who have helped us raise over £5,500 in aid of Beating Bowel Cancer.
OUR STORY....
At the age of just 48 Ian Mashen died on 10 May 2010 after a 2 year battle against bowel cancer.
Courageous, Inspirational, Determined, Funny, Kind, Decent - a great husband, son, twin brother, friend and cycling addict - that was Ian!
Ian was diagnosed in June 2008 the news of which was a great shock. Unfortunately the bowel cancer had already spread to his liver and was considered inoperable. Despite the fact that he didn't smoke, rarely drank alcohol, followed a strict diet and was super fit from his passion for cycling, he'd been slow to recognise the symptoms, which are:
Bleeding from your bottom, change in bowel habit (especially going to the loo more often), abdominal pain, a lump in your tummy, weight loss and tiredness. Most of these symptoms will NOT be bowel cancer, however if you have one or more of these symptoms for more than 4 to 6 weeks you should see your GP for further tests to rule it out.
Bowel cancer affects over 35,000 people every year - men and women of all ages - and claims almost 50 lives every day. BUT caught early and treated successfully it is completely curable. Early diagnosis is key to survival and that is why we want to support the work of Beating Bowel Cancer, a charity dedicated to raising awareness of the disease.
Stop smoking
Understand the symptoms
Regularly exercise
Value your body
Intake less alcohol
Visit your GP
Eat healthily
Our original challenge which started on 5 June 2010 is to "raise £'s by losing lbs" and our joint target was 100 lbs by 5 December 2010 - we made it to 65lbs. However, one of Ian's dreams was to cycle Mont Ventoux with Jonathan so we extended our challenge in a bid to get fit enough to attempt the ride together which we achieved on 12th September this year.
Read more about our story by visiting our web page at: www.100weightchallenge.moonfruit.com where you can find links to our videos on You Tube. You can also follow me on Twitter at @YoMash66 or the charity @Bowel Cancer.
Thank you,-x-
Yvonne & Jonathan Mashen
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