tropic of cancer

City Banker to cycle the tropic of cancer in AID of Cancer awareness

City banker Jon Wright has given up his job with Barclays Wealth to cycle 11,000 miles along the Tropic of Cancer this October in aid of cancer awareness and the importance of early detection of the disease. Having been given the all clear from two unrelated cases of testicular cancer the 27 year old will raise funds for Macmillan, Orchid, Starlight and Willow Foundation.

Starting at the Bank of England, London, Jon and his brother Dom (32) will cycle 50 miles a day, for nine months, until they reach Havana, Cuba in time for the summer solstice 2010 to symbolise the long life which can be lived after cancer. The TCC Challenge (Tropic of Cancer for Cancer Challenge) will start on October 9^th 2009 and will finish on June 21^st 2010.

Jon and Dom are hoping to raise over £100,000 for their chosen cancer related charities. “I wanted to plan a huge physical and mental challenge to match the effect that cancer had on my life. The first time was not easy but I confronted it and got on with it. The second time was a rare occurrence as it was unrelated, that hit me extremely hard and prompted me to create something positive from my experience. I was determined to use my natural energy to travel a long distance to show that cancer hadn’t beaten me; one day I was looking at a world map for inspiration and came across the idea of travelling along the Tropic of Cancer and had a bit of a eureka moment, I totalled up the distance over land which, at 11,000 miles, ruled out walking (I’m not sure my fiancée would wait that long) so I thought about how feasible it would be to cycle. I had begun cycling short distances to regain my fitness following radiotherapy treatment and my passion for the sport was growing, cycling along the Tropic of Cancer seemed to tick all the boxes of what I hoped to achieve. Further research indicated that it’s not something which has been done before and the TCC (Tropic of Cancer for Cancer) Challenge was born.” Jon said.

He continues, “The key objective of this challenge is to raise awareness over the importance of early detection. If diagnosed early testicular cancer is easily treatable with a 99% cure rate, I want to reach out to those people who fear something may be wrong to go and get it checked out. Many men don’t feel comfortable talking about their testicles but if something as serious as testicular cancer is left untreated it will spread and eventually kill you, for me it was a no brainer- I’ve got a lot of living left to do.”

Jon’s story is even more remarkable given the fact that he was only a novice cyclist before he started training a year ago. “I think the furthest I’d cycled before I started training was around 10-15 miles. I started training for the TCC Challenge on my Ridgeback mountain bike that I did my paper round on at 12 years old!” Ironically the boys are now sponsored by Ridgeback and will embarking on their journey on Ridgeback Voyage and Panorama touring bikes.

The TCC Challenge will take the brothers through the continents of Europe, Africa, Asia and Central America, putting their bikes through their paces by enduring some of the world’s most challenging terrain. They will be cycling unsupported but joined on various legs by some friends including Jon’s fiancée.

“It’s great to have my brother joining me” Jon says, “I’m sure they’ll be moments when we can’t stand each other but on the whole it will be a great morale booster and we do get on well, furthermore his sense of direction is far better than mine- I tend to get lost in a phone box so it’s a definite plus having him on board!”

Macmillan are currently running their ‘We’re Here’ campaign where they are aiming to reach the 2million people who are currently living with cancer. Orchid exists to save men’s lives from testicular, prostate and penile cancers through pioneering research and promoting awareness. Willow Foundation provides special days for seriously ill 16-40 year olds and similarly Starlight Children’s Foundation brightens the lives of seriously and terminally ill children by granting their wishes and providing hospital entertainment to help take their minds off the pain, fear and isolation of their illness.