Parker is back in the saddle to fight cancer
PAUL Parker had a baptism of fire when he took part in Prostate Cancer UK’s popular Football to Amsterdam bike ride last summer – but he’s getting back in the saddle.
The former England right-back will don his helmet and get pedalling in early June to help the fundraising bid to fight prostate cancer.
The 55-year-old, who will cycle through his hometown of Billericay in Essex en route, said: “I had a hip replacement in November 2018 and I looked at the bike ride as something for me to aim for.
“A few people I knew were going through the process of prostate cancer, too, so that gave me more of an incentive.
“The ride was one of the most difficult things I’ve done since I stopped playing. Physically and mentally, it took a lot out of me.
“For someone who has never owned a bike before, it was quite a challenge.” Even a nasty fall on the opening day of last year’s event hasn’t put the cycling novice off.
“I lost control when a tyre burst as I was coming down the hill in the rain – luckily the car coming in the opposite direction was far enough back to see me in time!
“I couldn’t have had more people to help me and I got given a spare bike. The gears caught me in the back of my calf and I had a lot of blood on my socks – even five or six tackles from Vinnie Jones wouldn’t have produced that much blood! I’ve still got the marks now.
“Despite being an Essex person, I never realised it had so many hills! And I was lucky (former Charlton striker) Garry Nelson had a spare wet top or I think that I would have died of hypothermia!
“The following morning, I thought someone had taken my legs, but now I’m going to do it all again – and I’m better prepared this time!”
What helped Parker reach the finish line was the support and camaraderie of the other riders. “Everyone is there for their own reasons, but for the right reasons – to do their bit,” he said. “I didn’t know anyone when I turned up, but you stop at different stages, have a chat with people and find out more about them and their experiences. “There’s a group of you together and people in front are warning you about something in the road or some idiot in a car trying to zoom past six people on a long bend! It does bring everyone together.” Starting out as a charity challenge with 35 riders in 2013, the Football to Amsterdam bike reached an incredible £2.5 million fundraising landmark last June, with this year’s ride, from June 5-7, expected to smash the £3 million barrier.
The southern leg – London to Amsterdam – begins at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s Lee Valley VeloPark and continues on to Harwich.
The northern leg kicks off from Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough for the first time and continues to Hull, where the cyclists get the overnight ferry to Rotterdam. Both second days continue along the picturesque pathways of the Netherlands before the two Men United pelotons converge at the iconic Johan Cruyff Arena, home of Dutch giants Ajax.
More than 11,500 men die from prostate cancer in the UK each year – one man every 45 minutes.
● For more information about taking part in Football to Amsterdam 2020, go to prostatecanceruk.org/ amsterdam
You can sponsor Paul Parker at justgiving.com/fundraising/paulparkerf2a and to get £25 off registration, go to prostatecanceruk. org/amsterdam and enter the code QPR25.