On 31st May 2022, my partner & soulmate Annie Tang passed away suddenly after being diagnosed with EGFR-positive lung cancer just three weeks prior.

She had been living with and managing her APS since the diagnosis over a decade ago, but it caused complications to her treatment in the final moments of her life.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disease which affects the blood and its ability to clot. An overactive immune system produces antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL), which cause the blood to clot too quickly both in veins and arteries.

APS Support’s mission is to achieve earlier diagnosis and offer support to anyone affected by antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) through awareness, education, and research.

APS is a significantly under-recognised and under-diagnosed condition; the charity is determined to raise the profile of APS wherever possible, which is why Annie’s family chose this as their preferred charity for Annie.

Last year, Annie's family successfully raised money for the memorial bench which is now in Red Cross Gardens (https://www.bost.org.uk/red-cross-garden), a beautiful location, close to Annie’s London home that we can all visit. That fundraiser was a great success and the additional funds raised were donated to APS Support in Annie’s name.

On April 13th this year, I will be taking on a challenge to cycle from The Mall in London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. I will be planning to complete this over 3 days, along with two friends, Ed and Chris. We are doing this in aid of various charities, and I have chosen  APS Support UK.

Annie was a warm, kind, and loving woman who cherished every one of her friends, colleagues, and family members for the individual that they were and what made each of us special to her.  Annie celebrated the different qualities in us all and created a safe space that was judgment free and full of fun, laughter, mischief, great food, cocktails, and love 🙂. Life without Annie will never be the same for any of us.

In our time together, Annie & I loved each other for who we were, and encouraged that in one another and I am truly grateful that we were able to create so many beautiful memories in the short time that we shared. One of our (many) hopes for our future had been that we would visit Paris together. Therefore bringing together the opportunity to cycle from London to Paris, raise money in Annie’s memory, and to do that for a charity that devotes itself to raising awareness and support for others living with APS, feels like the perfect combination.

Our route will be 3 days, taking us from The Mall in central London down towards the south coast through the south downs meaning some interesting hills to climb (Alex does not like hills! - Just ask Ed & Chris). From Dieppe in France we will head towards the cathedral city of Rouen before turning toward Paris on what will be the longest day of cycling on the trip.

As a group Ed, Chris & I  have organised and covered all the associated costs of the trip. We will be ably assisted on our journey by Ed’s dad in our support car.  All 3 of us want any funds raised to go directly to the charities that are close to our hearts. Personally, raising awareness of APS and APS Support is the highest priority, any donations are gratefully received, but spreading the word and knowledge about APS is the most important thing that I can ask of you.

It is for this reason that I have set up an Instagram account @peloton4aps ( https://instagram.com/peloton4aps?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM= ) to document the next 30 days, to share content, raise interest & awareness, including the 3-day journey itself and possibly some live feeds on-route of sweaty lycra clad men in their 40s. Please do follow the page, and share with friends and family as we build up to and complete the ride.

Wish us luck 🙂

If you would like to donate, then 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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.