My name is Andrew McDermott and I'm a 29 year old Firefighter from Birmingham.
In spring 2008 I was diognosed with a type of cancer called Hodgkin's Lymphoma. After undergoing months of Chemotherapy I had the good news and was put into remission.
Whilst I was ill I watched a programme called the Wheel Heroes. This involved Cancer survivors cycling every stage of the Tour de France. Leading this challenge was Geoff Thomas, the ex England football star. Geoff who suffered from Leukaemia in 2003 created a charity to raise funds in blood Cancer treatments. This is now known as the Geoff Thomas foundation.
The programme really inspired me to some how get involved and be a part of this wonderful charity. I was desperate to be included in a cycling event as I am absolutley terrible at running!!! so this January I contacted them and was invited to ride in their London to Paris 25 man team.
This challenge involves starting in London on 24th June then cycling the 550km/350miles over three days to arrive in Paris on 27th June ending under the iconic Eiffel Tower. In June we’ll be joined by Rebecca Romero (World and Olympic champion), Magnus Backstedt, Tour winners Stephen Roche, Sean Kelly, Johan Musseuw, Brian Smith, Geoff Thomas James Cracknell,and John Salako. There'll be road blocks, Police escorts, 100 man strong support team and even the Mavic support car.
Looking at the team I dont think this is going to be a 'bimble' around France taking in the sites, stopping off for a cold beer whilst trying to tan my milky white legs!!!!! Its going to be hard graft but its a challenge and charity that I am more than happy to suffer for!!!!!
As I'm still here and in remission I feel an urge to repay the 'debt' and help those people that are less fortunate than myself and do my bit to raise money for support and aid with this battle against Cancer. I know this challenge is going to be extremly tough but together with your contributions it will make it all worthwhile.
Here's a link to the charity and details of the ride.
Thanks to all the support from my family, friends, lads at work and Pip for all the training advice....I know i'm going to need it!!!!!
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
