JoG-LE 1,000

Background

A couple of years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer for which she underwent a mastectomy and a course of chemotherapy. However, despite initially being given the all clear, within a matter of weeks she found a lump under her armpit. The diagnosis was that the cancer had spread to her lymphatic system and soft tissues, for which she was to suffer further chemo and radiotherapy.

At that point I came up with the idea, that if she managed to get through this, I would then organise some form of motorcycle-based event to raise funds for a cancer-related charity, and a non-motorway run from John o' Groats to Land's End was always one of my pipe dreams.

Last November, it was found that she had elevated levels of calcium in her blood, for which she was taken into hospital for treatment. One evening I arrived home from work to find a tearful father on my doorstep. Apparently, tests were suggesting that the cancer had spread further, and most of my mother's major organs were affected - liver, kidneys, lungs and so forth. The prognosis was that the disease would prove terminal, and she only had a matter of months left.

That night, the notion became a decision, with the initial aim to run the event as a memorial ride on the first anniversary of her passing.

As it turned out, she was gone within a fortnight.

Unless you knew her well, you would probably not have realised how ill she really was. She remained upbeat throughout, presenting a brave and bright face to the world. She just got on with her life as best she could. Even two months on, as I write, I still half expect to see her in all the usual places.

She was in the middle of co-producing a pantomime for her drama group, the Watson Players (of which she was a founder member) - attending a rehearsal just days before she died. When the local paper, the Derby Evening Telegraph, found out about this, during the course of the usual publicity mill, they were moved to run a couple of features on her: Click here for article dated 11^th December 2006 and here for article dated 15^th January 2007. These were later followed by a review of the pantomime on the 29^th January - click here to view.

My resolve was strengthened, so I started looking into route options. I decided on a set of reasonable waypoints, and plotted various ways of joining them up, broadly shadowing the "classic" motorway route, with the occasional diversion along recommended motorcycling roads. In the end I managed to piece together a set of routes which, according to my GPS software and as much by luck as judgement, totalled exactly 1,000 miles, or near enough - which I thought would add a nice ring to the event.

I came to the conclusion that late November was not really the time of year to spend upwards of eight hours a day on the road, so my plans shifted, and I decided to run the event to coincide with what would have been my mother's 63^rd birthday.

I floated the idea with my usual "riding buddies" and have been heartened by the gusto with which most of them have agreed to either participate or dig in to get things moving.