Lancaster cancer charity invites people to 'cycle around the world' for new fundraising event

CancerCare has launched its Wheels Around The World campaign, a virtual cycling event which is aiming to clock up 25,000 miles – the equivalent to circumnavigating the globe.

Participants will be able to submit the number of miles they cover each week to an interactive virtual “totalizer” and the charity will also be sharing their achievements, photos and routes on a dedicated online Facebook group.

The event will run from April 22 to May 17 and CancerCare is hoping it will raise £25,000, which equals the monthly cost of the counselling and therapy it provides to people affected by cancer and bereavement across its centres in Lancaster, Kendal and Barrow.

CancerCare’s last virtual event, the Santa Dash which took place at Christmas, was a huge success, raising around £13,000 and organiser Kat Michaels said she hoped they would double that amount with Wheels Around the World.

Kat said: “We are still unable to do mass participation events due to Covid and it has felt like a long winter so we wanted to do something that would encourage people to get outdoors in the spring sunshine and enjoy some exercise with their family and friends.

“It is not just a cycling event, participants can contribute their miles on anything from scooters to pushchairs. As long as they are having fun that is the main thing!”

Taking part are the Hardiman family from Heysham. Mum Nikki said: "When we heard about the challenge we were super excited to get involved. We have lots of family adventures cycling and we like to try something new.

"We aim to cover 250 miles as a family in 25 days. I love supporting CancerCare too, they are a great local charity doing such good work at a difficult time."

For more information and to sign up, visit the CancerCare website here.