Spoked about charity ride

Spoked about charity ride

Three Melbourne women will cycle 200km through the Victorian countryside next month to raise critical funds towards cancer research.

Alice Murray, Kirsty Cuzens and Cathy Anderson are in preparations for the Ride to Conquer Cancer from October 27-28, a fundraiser for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

The team goes by the name Team Different Spokes which was chosen since all three women are lesbians and wanted something fun for their name, Murray said.

Murray told the Star Observer the two-day journey would be the longest ride any of them had attempted.

“The longest we’ve ever ridden was in training last week,” Murray said.

Once competitors leave the city limits of Melbourne they will have to climb the rolling hills of the Yarra Valley which Murray said would be a challenge.

“We reckon we can tough it out for two days,” she said.

The team members, like most teams involved, have been affected by cancer in one way or another.

Murray said she had learnt about the ride at her local bike shop which had caught her eye due to her own experiences with cancer.

“My mum died when I was 23 and my dad is going through terminal cancer and a very dear friend of mine had just been diagnosed,” the 43 year-old said.

“She’s just done a year’s worth of treatment so we started this ride in honour of those people.”

Murray said Cuzens and Anderson also had their own personal experiences with cancer.

With about six weeks left until they approach the starting line, the team continues to train and fundraise despite having met their own personal fundraising targets.

“We’ve been really lucky, everyone has come out in huge support,” Murray said.

All three women have raised the mandatory $2,500 each and are now on track to complete their next goal of raising $10,000 collectively.

“Everyone has been so generous, I think so many people are affected by cancer that its something people aren’t hesistant to get behind,” she said.

Murray extended a special thanks to cabaret stars Dolly Diamond and Luke Gallagher for performing at the girls’ trivia night held last weekend.

The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is Australia’s only public hospital solely dedicated to cancer treatment and research.

The Ride to Conquer Cancer was first held in Toronto, Canada in 2008 and raised $14 million for the Princess Margaret Hospital.

INFO: facebook.com/TeamDifferentSpokes

You May Also Like

Comments are closed.