“I found a way to honour my mum’s memory” – Dan’s One More City story

Dan Dale recently joined a team of 37 riders to take on the One More City annual cycling campaign. The four-day challenge this September saw them ride from Pisa to Nice, covering nearly 600km and reaching climbs of 6,000m along the way, all to raise funds for our ground-breaking research into secondary breast cancer.  Here, Dan reflects on his experience and his reason to take part…

I had just landed in Nice on a beautiful sunny morning in October 2018, on my way to Monaco to prepare for the Strive Challenge, which was a ride from Monaco to Tignes. I’d collected all my luggage and was outside the Arrivals terminal waiting for a taxi when my phone rang. ‘Mummy’ (I know what you’re thinking) flashed up on the screen.

“Mother,” - I always answered the phone to her like that - “You calling to wish me luck?” My mum responded, but not in her usual way, normally the greeting always gets a little laugh.

“Hi Dan….” followed by a long pause. I could hear my dad’s voice close to the phone, “What's up, Mum? What’s happened?”

Then a sentence I was not expecting to hear: “Dan…the cancer has come back.”

Image: Dan and his mum. Credit: Dan Dale

“All I heard was ‘cancer’ and that it was terminal”

I remember at one of the appointments I attended with my mum that the term ‘secondary breast cancer’ was mentioned, but all I heard was ‘cancer’, and that it was terminal. I didn’t know why it was different this time, my mum never asked what stage, she just went with the mentality “I am going to fight this, and live.”

She died in January 2021.

Even before she died, I wanted to participate in something that would repay the excellent treatment and support she received whilst being with the team at Barts. It ended up as token donations, which I felt good about, but it was never enough.

“New riders are always welcome”

Fast forward 3 years and scrolling through the fitness tracking platform Strava whilst sitting in a hotel room, after day one of cycling from Paris to London, I came across a ride from Lyndsay Fitzgerald (cyclist and teammate of mine), riding through Italy on this thing called One More City (OMC).

Initially I thought it was a women's only cycling event, but I wanted in, so messaged her with something funny about ways I could latch on just so I could ride some places I have never ridden before. For context, my bike goes everywhere with me, and many family holidays are chosen based on the ability to and the quality of riding on offer. This was hard to start with, but they are used to it now.

“It’s not just for women, men do it too, and it's for a charity campaign set up by Christine O’Connell. When I am back, let's chat, new riders are always welcome.” I am in, I think, and I am going to ride some new roads - the charity piece I can think about later.

I can’t remember whether we spoke on the phone, or we met for a ride, but I met with Lyndsay and was excited to hear where OMC was going in 2025.

Image: Dan and Lyndsay. Credit: Dan Dale

As soon as Lyndsay started to explain OMC to me, who Christine was, what she is going through, the relationship with The Institute of Cancer Research and what the ride is for, where the ride was going became irrelevant. I wanted in, I had found something that was exactly the thing I could, in some way, honour my mum's memory, helping others being diagnosed or receiving treatment for secondary breast cancer.

“It is hard not to feel like the cause is worth supporting”

Fundraising does not come easy to many people - asking people for money is a hard thing to do, especially when you are a keen cyclist. “What’s this, Dan? Am I paying you to go cycling in some exotic location?!?!", I heard, over and over again.

The difference here is the relationship and access OMC has to the ICR. Being able to tell potential donors that you have been to the labs, you have met the people the money is going to, you have witnessed the work they are doing...Well, that's compelling, and then you layer on Christine's story, my own experience and the impact on women in general, it is hard not to feel like the cause is worth supporting.

I was lucky that I reached close to my target within a very short space of time, and then around the time of the ride and shortly after, hit it, and then went over!

Image: The One More City team in Nice. Credit: Vincent Engel

“The atmosphere and camaraderie between the riders was amazing”

Multi-day riding is always going to be a challenge, regardless of the level of rider you are. You may have the fitness, but the weather gods may be conspiring against you. OK, fitness is good, weather is fine, then you get hit by mechanicals. OK, fitness good, weather fine, no mechanicals, but now you are riding with people you have never ridden with before! What I am trying to say is, there are potentially many elements that can make the ride a challenge.

Some of that is in your control, some of that is out of your control - and some of it, the OMC team do their best to control. By putting on some non-bike events and some bike-related events, you can get a sense of the people you will be riding with, and their personalities. But you never really know until you arrive on the start line, and push on the pedals for the first time.

What I can say, is that off the bike, the atmosphere and camaraderie between the riders and support was amazing. Everyone knew why they were there. We all knew it wasn’t about us, it was about raising money, raising awareness and honouring the memories of those we were riding for.

“I feel compelled to help”

On the bike, well, what can I say?  We started together and we ended together. The way my group rode for the 4 days was exceptional, all the personalities gelled, everyone looked out for one another, and we laughed a lot along the way. Mainly because I was calling Kim 'Helen' for the first 2 days….Oops.

People have asked me on my return, since the route must have been stunning, what was my favourite part? Riding point to point as we did, seeing beautiful places, being surrounded by beautiful scenery is a given. What stood out for me, were some of the wonderful people we met along the way, who took an interest in what we were doing and the restaurant owners and staff who fed us (and did they feed us!), greeting us with warmth after some hard kilometres and making sure we were well looked after.

My experience with OMC and the ICR has meant that I am now so much better informed about this horrible, but equally fascinating disease that impacts so many people's lives. I feel compelled to help and support in any way I can - and if that means riding a bike from city to city, then I am happy to do so.

I hope I get invited back for 2026, because I have already pencilled it in on the official family calendar. 

Funds from this year’s ride will support a Clinical Research Fellow who will join Professor Victoria Sanz-Moreno's lab to further push forward our research into advanced breast cancer.

To support Dan and the rest of the One More City team, visit One More City – JustGiving.

To register your interest in joining the One More City team in 2026, visit One More City Ride 2026.