Cyclists set for 9-day ride to raise money for cancer, multiple sclerosis
Published Oct 14, 2022
Written by
Shakirah Thebus
Multimedia Journalist, Cape Argus
Cape Town - Approximately 30 cyclists, most of whom know what it’s like to lose someone to cancer or multiple sclerosis, will cycle from Mossel Bay to Cape Town to raise funds for the treatment and care of these illnesses.
Rylands resident and dental surgeon Dr Elias Parker said Wheel to Heal was launched to raise funds for charities and had set a target of R2 million.
Parker lost his wife, Mariam, to cancer five years ago.
Parker said it was “an unbelievably painful” experience. Those who had lost someone in this way “know the sense of detachment, it simply makes you grapple with it for not days or months, but for years”, he said.
At the age of 63, Parker got on to a bike for the first time.
The group will leave Cape Town for Mossel Bay on December 3 and will cycle from Mossel Bay on December 4, through Calitzdorp, Ladismith, Barrydale, Montague, Worcester, Wellington and then back to Cape Town, a nine-day journey.
“In addition to raising the money, we also want to increase awareness. In the rural areas, a lot of people, quite a large percentage of them, die because of very late detection or no detection for that matter.
“So increasing the awareness and the significance of early detection is as important as providing funds for the treatment of cancer.”
