Short Version

I’m riding One More City for the fourth — and final — time. Why?

Because last year nearly broke me… and because I can’t walk away from something this important.

The cause is extraordinary, the people are inspiring, and the challenge this year is irresistible — including taking on Mont Ventoux and its surreal moonscape summit at 1,904m.

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Longer Version

Secondary breast cancer is cancer that has spread beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes to other parts of the body. Despite the best modern treatments, around 20–30% of people diagnosed with primary breast cancer will go on to develop secondary disease — which, heartbreakingly, is still incurable.

While new treatments are helping people live longer, we urgently need more research to improve outcomes for everyone affected. That’s why I’m riding — and why your support genuinely makes a difference.

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One More City (OMC) is built on a powerful idea: the journey is never over. There is always one more city, one more climb, one more kilometre.

OMC was founded by Christine O’Connell, who was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer after falling from her commuter bike due to an undiagnosed brain tumour — the spread of the cancer. Quietly spoken, non-complaining, determined and resilient, Christine is still with us, leading OMC. Extraordinary.

OMC mirrors the reality for people living with secondary cancer — where the challenge doesn’t stop. There are always more treatments, more scans, more uncertainty.

Since 2017, OMC has completed eight rides across seven countries, raising nearly £500,000 for secondary breast cancer research in the UK.

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Each OMC ride comprises four consecutive 100+ mile days, with far too many mountains along the way. This will be my fourth ride:

• 2023: Munich to Venice (crossing the Alps…)

• 2024: Venice to Rome (into an unrelenting headwind…)

• 2025: Pisa to Nice (crossing the Alps…)

• 2026: Nice to Montpellier (scaling Mont Ventoux…)

I ride in the “slow group,” which means up to 11-hour days in the saddle — sometimes even starting before dawn. It’s brutally hard. I’ve only managed it thanks to the incredible support of ride leaders, fellow riders, volunteers, my physio, my coach, and my generous donors.

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I’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone who has supported me so far — helping me raise well over £10,000. On the toughest climbs and longest days, that support has kept me going when my legs, my rear end, and everything else are screaming at me to stop.

A uniquely powerful part of OMC is seeing first-hand where the money goes. We visit the Institute of Cancer Research and meet the researchers that OMC is funding directly. We see their test tubes, their computer models — and we hear how OMC funding is accelerating clinical trials. It makes everything feel real, and urgent.

Because there is no middleman, all of the funds go directly to the researchers. And all of us riders cover the full cost of taking part ourselves.

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So here I am again in 2026.

I’m riding for this extraordinary cause — but also for the personal challenge, and for the privilege of being surrounded by such amazing, generous, low-ego people. For that reason, I’ve already contributed half of my £1,000 target myself.

If you’d like to support, I’d be hugely grateful. But just as importantly, a few words of encouragement mean a lot too.

Thank you.

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