BOSS Members get on their bikes for cancer research

Boss Member have swapped their pens and pencils for pedals and taken on a 100km cycling event in aid of The Institute of Cancer Research, London.
The round trip started and finished at the Sutton campus of The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). The group conquered both the intimidating Box and Leith Hills in Surrey, with the ride totalling an elevation of over 3,000 feet.
The ride, which took place on Friday 7 September, was so successful that the team behind it hope to turn it into a regular fundraiser for the ICR!
The organisers, Sean Starkey and Steve Robinson, are old colleagues with Graeme Chapman. Graeme has been leading the Climb of Life – an annual fundraising event for the ICR, which has been going for 30 years, and has raised almost £1m for the research institute and charity. He invited the pair to join the Climb of Life walk but, being avid cyclists, they thought they would rather cycle, and so the idea for Ride of Life was born.
The Ride of Life was officially started by the ICR’s chief executive, Professor Paul Workman, who also made a speech to help inspire the cyclists before they took on those tough hills.
They held a fundraising auction which included two fantastic lots – a seat in the neutral service car at a professional cycling race in 2019, donated by Brother, and a bike fitting for the winning bidder by former Swedish pro cyclist and Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Bäckstedt. The cyclist is himself a cancer survivor, along with his sister.
The cyclists’ fantastic effort will directly support the ICR’s scientists and clinicians, who are working every day to make the discoveries that will defeat cancer.
The ICR has been carrying out world-leading research into the causes of cancer, and how it might be treated or prevented, for more than 100 years. Today, it is a world leader at discovering new targeted drugs for personalised cancer treatment and identifying cancer-related genes.
Sean Starkey, who co-organised the Ride of Life to raise funds for The Institute of Cancer Research, London, commented: “I lost both of my parents to cancer – my mother when I was young; she was just 41 when she died from breast cancer. My father had bowel cancer and was 77. Cancer has affected my life so much, as it has with so many other people. This has been a huge motivator for me in organising the event.
“I have been pleasantly surprised by how many of my friends and colleagues have come out of the woodwork as keen or aspiring cyclists. The support we’ve had has been overwhelming. We have had other colleagues, customers, manufacturers and people from the press join us. It’s fantastic that the event has been so well supported in its first year.”
Steve Robinson, who co-organised the Ride of Life to raise funds for The Institute of Cancer Research, London, commented: “It has been an honour to be involved in this inaugural Ride of Life which has been a really exciting event. The route went through beautiful Surrey villages, climbed iconic and dramatic hills and explored some wonderful rolling countryside. There was great camaraderie amongst our industry colleagues and friends, and to top it off, this has been an amazing fundraising effort by all involved.”
There were a total of 30 riders from Manufacturers, Trade Press and Resellers – including three staff members; Amy Hutchinson, Charles Jarrold and Jon Rice.
To date £13,372.04 has been raised – and you can still to support the Ride of Life and donate to the ICR.
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