REAL RIDER
Diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer, Ironman athlete and father-of-two Peter McCleave, 40, is cycling to save his life...
Iwas suffering from backache after competing in the Ironman Wales event in 2016 but I put it down to the effects of the training. Eventually, I had some MRI scans and that’s when the doctors discovered lesions on my bones. Follow-up blood tests revealed I had myeloma, a cancer that develops from cells in the bone marrow. That was in March 2017. I was given seven years to live. The day I got the diagnosis, a fog descended in my head and I didn’t know what it meant; it was brutal – I almost started laughing. The next 48 hours were the worst of my life, telling my wife Jenny and sons Max (8) and Seb (6), while trying to get used to the fact that what was happening to me was life-threatening. I embarked on a course of chemotherapy and now need to find a stem cell donor who matches my mixed Chinese-Portuguese heritage. I’d always been fit – a keen cyclist, runner and a rugby coach – and Ironman events were a natural progression. I’ve kept on cycling, mainly at a recreational level - though I also took part in the Weymouth Ironman last year. Getting out and riding my bike as often as I can is a relief both physically and mentally. I’m fortunate to have some great cycling routes around my home in Bunbury, Cheshire, and I ride my Trek Émonda or my Giant Propel. I can still train, but the myeloma has compromised my immune system and weakened my bones so a crash could be very harmful. I’m using 2019 to draw attention to my campaign to get 10,000 new donors on the stem cell register ( http://10000donors.com). I need someone who is a genetic match to donate their stem cells to be transplanted into my blood.