A British man is taking on a 4,000-miles-long cycle along the UK coast – no easy feat. However, Gareth Lyon isn’t just a keen cyclist; he’s undertaking the challenge to raise money and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK.
Speaking about his ride Gareth explained: “This year I turn 50, and this is also the age where every man should start regularly getting tested for prostate cancer. Because I have a family history of prostate cancer, I have a 1 in 3 chance of getting Prostate Cancer.
“This is why I wanted to use this milestone age as a moment to raise awareness of a horrible disease and raise money for a wonderful charity that does so much to help those diagnosed with prostate cancer.”
‘Gareth’s Great Tour of Britain’ will see the adventurer cycling 4,000 miles across seven weeks. Allowing for one rest day per week, that means he’ll have to cycle approximately 100 miles a day. At the time of writing, he’s already over halfway there.
On his JustGiving page, Gareth explains that he not only wants to “raise invaluable funds for Prostate cancer UK, to stop this disease killing men” and to raise awareness of Prostate Cancer as 1 in 8 men will get it, but also to “inspire and engage others to either get involved in this mad adventure or to just push themselves out of their comfort zone”.
To give him an extra boost his dad, colleagues and friends have been supporting him along the way, with 30 having agreed to join him at various stages across the journey.
He said of the support: “I am delighted to be joined by many of my colleagues from NTT DATA over the course of the ride, and am touched by the number of people willing to go well outside their comfort zone to amplify our cause.
“NTT DATA has gone above and beyond to not only accommodate the ride and fund my expenses but also match any donations from NTT DATA employees, making our ambitious target of £20,000 all the more achievable.”
That ambitious target has already been achieved at the time of writing, with Gareth having already raised an impressive £20,560 to date. After reaching his original goal, he’s increased it to £25,000.
You can support Gareth on his JustGiving page, and follow his adventures on his Instagram page.
To find out more about Prostate Cancer, head to prostatecanceruk.org.