Welcome to the website of Bike to the Future 2008 - 'Ride around the World'
Message from Les Niewiara
In November 2003 I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In that same year there were just over 7,000 other people who also got the same news. By the end of this year, nearly all of those people will have died and there will be less than 200 of us left. Unfortunately, most people have never heard of pancreatic cancer and the battle against the pancreatic facts that those of us diagnosed face.
One of the main reasons that these statistics is not higher up the political, medical and charity agenda is that there are just not enough of us survivors to make a loud enough noise about what I consider to be an appalling national and international scandal. As I am currently one of the lucky survivors, I feel it is important to try and raise the volume about this issue, however, I am going to need the voices of many of you who have no direct link to pancreatic cancer to be able to help create a critical mass of people who can work together to bring about a change in the current situation.
The vehicle I have chosen to help you get involved and to help raise the volume is Bike to the Future 2008 - 'Ride around the World'. It is a series of linked events that will be taking place in the summer of 2008 throughout Britain, Europe and the rest of the World, and in which I am hoping to engage as many people as possible with a common aim.
The central event is Bike to the Future 2008 which is a bike ride being undertaken by myself and a core team in which we will cycle from London to Krakow, a total distance of just over 1500 km / 950 miles, starting on July 24th at Hammersmith Hospital, London and finishing on August 7th at the Cloth Hall in Krakow.
Linked to this is the 'Ride around the World' element in which I am looking to encourage as many people as possible either join me for some or all of the Bike to the Future 2008 ride, or organise and participate in separate cycling events. The sum total of all of the cycling events will be to see if we can collectively 'Ride around the World' - a distance of ~40,000km / 25,000 miles, and in the process raise a minimum of £40,000 research into increasing the survival rates for those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
You will be able to find all of the details about the bike rides, how you can get involved and other issues concerning pancreatic cancer within this site. I hope you enjoy the website, and I look forward to your participation and the loan of your voice to help raise the volume.
