Riding Through The Storm

Book excerpt: Geoff Thomas's heroic battle to overcome leukaemia, and then take on the toughest sporting challenge: to ride the Tour de France When Geoff Thomas struggled to play a friendly game of tennis while on holiday in Mallorca in May 2003, he thought little of it. Recently retired as a footballer, he believed it was a sign of ageing and perhaps a pulled muscle. But when the pain wouldn't go away, his wife Julie persuaded him to go to a doctor. He was diagnosed as having leukaemia. RIDING THROUGH THE STORM focuses on his journey round the Tour de France in the summer of 2005, riding the 2,240-mile course in the 21 days it takes Lance Armstrong and all the top cyclists, despite never having cycled much before. Despite the odds against him achieving it, he rode the course and raised nearly £200,000 for charity. As he rides, he looks back on his successful career as a footballer, and the bone-marrow transplant that saved his life. This is a powerful, moving and inspirational story of extraordinary achievement.