Hello.

My name is Paul Burden and I had intended to travel from John o’ Groats to Lands End by handcycle, powered only by my arms. Unfortunately in April 2009, with training well under way, I contracted necrotising fasciitis, a flesh eating bug and lost my right arm at the shoulder. I am not one to be put off though! I have found a new bike that I will do the ride on using my only remaining leg for power and my remaining arm for steering brakes and gears. Timescales have had to be put back a while though to May/June 2012 at the earliest to give me time to recover from my arm loss and to get training again. My goal is to raise £500,000 for Cancer Research. Please help me achieve this target by donating as much as you feel you are able.

One in three of us will experience cancer first hand.  Cancer Research seeks to enable earlier diagnosis, better treatments and cures to enable future generations to live long healthy lives.

I myself first experienced cancer (osteosarcoma) at the age of 13, and lost my leg to it. Later in my ‘teens, I had major surgery to remove secondary tumors in my lungs. I owe much to the medical intervention I received, and the research behind it. I am now at the ripe age of 48, married, with 4 children.

In 2007 I contracted another cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) in my cheek. This was sucessfully removed in a 9.5 hour operation in November of that year. 

I have no intention of allowing my return to health to go to waste. “Paul’s Ride for Life” will be a personal journey as well as a fundraiser for Cancer Research UK.

You can find out more about my training, my ride and my story on www.paulsrideforlife.co.uk (web page still subject to change)