Thanks for visiting my JustGiving page. 

Over 40,000 men are diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in the UK every year. For the lucky ones it advances too slowly to threaten them, but for too many others detection comes too late.

I want to highlight the value of early detection. 3 challenges from me to respect 3 men I know who have been confronted by the disease. 

1: Andy Ripley was the first of these, a giant of a man with an unquenchable appetite for life. At rugby he captained Rosslyn Park into his 40's and was capped 24 times for England. As an allrounder in '81 he won the TV 'International Superstars' competition. At rowing he holds an indoor rowing world record for 2000m, then and at 50 just missed out on selection for the Cambridge boat race crew. Andy was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in 2005 and after a protracted (yet good-humoured) battle he succumbed in 2010 at the age of just 62. Detection for Andy came too late.

2: Patrick MacIntosh. Another superbly fit man, his cancers were picked up early as a result of his regular blood donation programme. He has beaten 3 cancers including prostate and celebrated by man- hauling a sledge to the South Pole.

3: Since starting my challenges, another friend has been diagnosed with Prostate cancer. Ian Sorrell is an irrepressible sportsman, we've biked sportives, time trials and alpine passes together. He recently upgraded his ski instructor quals to coach parties of intermediate school kids. His challenge lies ahead.

3 men in mind, 3 challenges for me. One donation from you?

1: I tackled the EG Triathlon on10th May. Not fast, but no slower than over the last ten years.

2: The Tour de Cambridge 28km TT and 125km Grand Fondo on June 6/7.

3: The RideLondon-Surrey 100 mile biking thingamy-jig on August 2nd. 

I'll huff and puff my way through these using a selection of my old steel bikes and my creaky old legs :-). 

If you would like to donate a few quid to Prostate Cancer that would be a real help to the research and support they are engaged in. But whether you do or not, help spread the message - don't ignore the symptoms, go for early detection.

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