MOTHER-of-four Paula Ryan is using pedal power to help a cancer charity - and is set to cycle 500 kilometres across Poland.
MOTHER-of-four Paula Ryan is using pedal power to help a cancer charity - and is set to cycle 500 kilometres across Poland.
She is gearing up for the challenge by taking part in a series of lengthy rides around Suffolk and says the main event when she sets off from Krakow will be a big personal challenge.
“We will be doing around 100km per day in order to reach Warsaw in five days, so it will be tough going,” said Mrs Ryan, 43, of Wentworth Drive, Old Felixstowe.
“It will be a big personal challenge for me, both in the cycling and the fundraising.
“I want to raise as much money as I can and I am determined to make sure I complete it.”
The ride starts on September 10 when hundreds of riders will set off from five different cities in Poland, all aiming to reach Warsaw at the same time. The cyclists are all raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care and Warsaw is the destination because that was Marie Curie's birthplace.
Mrs Ryan, who works as a nurse at Ipswich Hospital and Felixstowe General, has already raised more than £1,300 from a barn dance with a raffle supported by dozens of businesses.
Staff at Mediterranean Shipping Company are also holding a sponsored “dress down” day to help the fund.
“I am so grateful for the help I have received so far and friends and family and businesses in Felixstowe and further afield have been tremendous,” said Mrs Ryan, who is married to Martin, a detective with the MoD police.
The couple have a son, Sean, 19, 16-year-old twin girls Jennifer and Bernadette, and three-year-old daughter Felicity.
As well as using an exercise bike, Mrs Ryan has been getting out on her own bike to get fit, including taking part in the 63-mile Suffolk Coast cycle ride for the Anthony Nolan Trust.
Mrs Ryan said Marie Curie nurses had helped her family by providing night care for a relative suffering from cancer to give relatives a break and she wanted to support the charity as it did such marvellous work.
Anyone who would like to sponsor Mrs Ryan can contact her on 01394 283166.
WEBLINK: www.mariecurie.org.uk
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