Putting our Fundraising into a higher gear: Recapping Zscaler’s Fundraising Velodrome Track Day

Zscaler Blog

Putting our Fundraising into a higher gear: Recapping Zscaler's Fundraising Velodrome Track Day

As those of you who read my previous blogwill know, Zscaler is proud to be supporting Steve Gibbins' Tour 21 fund raising efforts for Cure Leukaemia, a blood cancer charity that gives patients access to new and potentially life-saving treatments by facilitating clinical trials. Beyond monetary donations, we were joined by Steve at our event in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park velodrome in London to learn more about his journey and the extraordinary world of cycling the Tour de France route. It was a fantastic, engaging and inspiring day for all attendees, so I thought I'd share a few highlights in case you missed it.

Kicking off proceedings, Steve opened the breakfast session by sharing his motivation for raising money for Cure Leukaemia, and explaining how he's preparing to take on this year's Tour 21:

"Cycling runs in the family - my father was a dedicated cyclist who raised funds for charities in Yorkshire and I'm grateful that I'm getting to do something that I love whilst raising money for an important cause. I was inspired by Rob Wynn, Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, who tackled Tour 21 last year in support of Cure Leukaemia and gave me the motivation to take on the challenge myself.

It's a daunting challenge for us riders, both physically and mentally. Waking up at 5:30am for training isn't easy, but the support has been incredible. We've formed strong bonds within the Tour 21 team, united in our commitment to reach the finish line and hit our fundraising goal. Our recent practice ride in Mallorca was a great opportunity to bond. Some team members have been truly inspiring, showcasing unwavering determination despite varying cycling abilities.

We then heard from endurance and adventure cyclist, Chris Hall, who takes on a number of cycling challenges every year to raise awareness about mental health. Having struggled with his own mental health throughout his life, Chris described cycling as his "unintended outlet," driving him deeper into the sport.

One of the things he noted that he enjoys most about cycling is that "all your senses are really engaged in it." After getting on his bike in 2014, he has taken part in international challenges such as the Grand Fondo in Australia, the Atlas Mountains Race in Morocco, the Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan, and Badlands in Spain - to name a few! Listening to Chris's experiences inspired all of us in the room to push our own cycling and physical limits further…

And it wasn't long until we had the opportunity to do just that! During the second half of the day, all event attendees and Zscaler staff hopped on their bikes for a track cycling session around the velodrome. It was a brilliant moment to bond as a team in such an iconic venue from the Olympics. Once we got our bearings, I would be lying though if I said things didn't start getting competitive! We could experience a bit of the flavour of the cycling sport in general as a team challenge and the Tour de France spirit in particular in a field of cyclists that hardly knew each other when the day started.

While we might be off our bikes for now, our support for Steve continues as we rally behind his fundraising goal. Every donation makes a difference and if his next adventure has inspired you, I encourage you to support Steve by donating on his Just Giving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/tour21-1709116264883

We wish Steve all the best with his training in the run up to Tour 21, and managing to successfully ride 3500 km while climbing more than 52,000 altitude metres in the French and Italian Alps as well as the Pyrenees in June. Good luck!

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