Radio(therapy) Rider

I set a goal to continue to exercise as much as I could during treatment. Research undertaken by Edith Cowan University in conjunction with the Vario Clinic showed being fit can benefit recovery times and the extent of continuing issues (side effects). Also, I had been training with a faint hope of completing the triathlon season this summer and was doing a lot of swimming, riding and a little running (not supposed to be running anymore). This was before my diagnosis.

Once diagnosed, and I'd overcome the trauma of realising I had cancer, I found the research by ECU and set my goal to continue to exercise. I figured I wouldn't be able to continue at the rate I was currently operating at once treatment started, so I decided to ramp up my training even more beforehand. I increased the frequency and length of my swim sessions. I increased the length of rides I went on, including rejoining my cycling buddies at the Malaga Cycling Group on Saturday mornings. I was only running once a week, but this was enough given my dodgy knee was only going to get dodgier if I overdid it.

During the testing phase of my diagnosis, I had a lot of appointments at the Cancer Centre in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. I rode there on a couple of occasions to see what the ride was like. It is a 61km round trip, or 30.5km one-way. On a couple of occasions, I rode there and got a lift back with Vicki. Mostly, I was trying to work out which was the quickest, and the safest way to ride because I felt I would be able to ride on treatment days too, but once treatment started I didn't want to be putting too much pressure on myself to concentrate on the road. I was looking for a route which was not on the road.

Alexander Drive to St Brigits Church on Fitzgerald and Aberdeen Sts, then onto the shared path towards Subiaco was the fastest by about 30 minutes. However, Alexander Drive and Fitzgerald Sts are busy thoroughfares without good cycling infrastructure, so I wasn't keen to ride on them once treatment started. While a slower journey, there are shared paths almost the entire journey from my home in Ballajura to the hospital. Where there aren't shared paths, accommodation has been made to separate pedestrians, cyclists and road traffic, like Subiaco, and except for Abadare Rd in Shenton Park (which has a cycle lane), breaks in the paths are on very light traffic roads through Carine and Stirling. There are a few roads to cross on the run along the Mitchell Freeway and the shared paths are not all good to ride on, but at least they are safe.

My next problem to overcome was sunscreen. I am unable to use sunscreen when heading for a radiotherapy session, so to be able to ride I needed to find another solution. I found a mask, or rather a face sock, from a motorcycle shop in Osborne Park. This fitted over my head, cheeks, mouth and neck, and importantly would protect my skin with SPF 20. I figured I could use these (they come in packs of three) in the early morning and late afternoon, but not during the middle of the day when the sun would be at its hottest and shade would be hard to find.

Now, it may not seem like much of a problem, but I noticed the first time I used the mask on my ride that I got a lot of quizzical looks from other users of the paths - cyclist and walkers. As well, when crossing intersections, drivers would look at me and I'm sure they were saying to themselves, "whose that tool?". It is not usual to see a cyclist wearing a mask of this type. Not many bugs hitting your face at bicycling speed.

I also noticed something else that I really didn't like. I am in the habit of slowing down to a pace that is just quicker than walking when riding up behind a pedestrian. I have found this to be the most effect method to share the path, primarily because when I use my bell, the person is often startled and moves the wrong way, or they have ear buds in and listening to music so don't hear the ring. Better to just slow down and be ready to avoid any danger that might present itself.

There are a lot of women use the shared paths, among the many people who use the paths for cycling to work, walking to the train stations dotted along the same route and dog walkers. In particular, I've noticed that my masked and black sunglass appearance has startled one or two of them. Obviously this is not my intention, but because I slow down and am approaching from behind, they see my mask and I think it initially frightens them because my identity is hidden. Even if I am wrong about this, I thought I'd do what I could to let people know.

I know the other path users can't identify me, but I thought why not just let them know if I can. I'd feel better. Aha, I thought, Facebook. 6 degrees of separation and all that. Surely I could get my situation in front of enough people so that those who use the path might know why I wear the mask, and importantly not be startled by my approaching them from behind.

I intend to continue to ride to the hospital for as long as my body allows, so I'm hoping that people using the paths might know a bit more about the Radio Rider going to his radiotherapy session from this post and maybe give me wave or a thumbs up.