A huge thank you to Helen Style and her five friends, who took on an extraordinary three-day cycling challenge through the Alps this summer, raising funds for PCD Support UK and Breast Cancer UK. For Helen, the decision to support PCD Support UK was particularly personal: two of her sons live with PCD and its effects every day. Here, the group share the story of their toughest — and final — “Pretty Ride”.
The Final Pretty Ride: Six Mums, One Mountain, Five Years of Adventure
We're six friends from Muswell Hill in north London, mums with busy lives, 17 kids between us, and ages ranging from 40 to 60. Five years ago, stuck indoors during the pandemic and watching our children's pre-school teeter on the edge of closure, one of us floated a slightly mad idea: what if we got on our bikes and did something about it? None of us were cyclists. We rode London to Brighton anyway, raised £35,000, and saved the school. We were hooked.
Five rides and around £90,000 later, we've pedalled through France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. For our grand finale, we wanted our toughest challenge yet: the Alps.
And the route was a beast: three days from Geneva to the Italian border. Day one: 92km from Geneva to Albertville via Lake Annecy, in 37°C heat. Day two: 64km of relentless hills to Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Day three, the big one: 40km and 2,200m of climbing up to Col du Petit Saint-Bernard, then a white-knuckle descent into Courmayeur.
Getting ready
We're semi-fit mums, not athletes, so training happened wherever we could squeeze it in. Our spin instructor Marta built us hill-climb classes to prep our legs, and Ian from our local bike shop, Northern Heights, mapped our routes, checked our gear and has ridden every single one of our five adventures. Before setting off we were a nervous, excited mess, equal parts "we've got this" and "what have we done?"
Why we ride
This time we rode for PCD Support UK and Breast Cancer UK, raising nearly £10,000 between them. PCD is a very personal cause for us, as two of Helen's sons live with the condition and its effects every day. Almost all of us also have a connection to breast cancer through a friend, colleague or loved one.
These aren't abstract causes to us; they're the people we love. When your legs are screaming on a 2,200m climb, that's what gets you to the top.
Our advice? You don't need to be an athlete. Grab a friend, pick a cause, plan a route, and just go.
Highs, lows and lifesavers
The views were unreal. The descents were terrifying and fabulous in equal measure. The climbs were, frankly, the worst part, but crossing that final line together beat every view on the trip. We were elated, shattered and so proud.
Our couldn't-live-without kit: padded shorts (non-negotiable), electrolytes for the heat, and a support van driven by Helen's husband Phil and friend Sharon, keeping us fuelled and hydrated. Honestly, though, the real essential was each other. The camaraderie carried us through every meltdown.
What we've learned
Five years has taught us that "semi-fit mums with busy lives" can do extraordinary things. This was our last "pretty ride" together, but never say never.
Our advice? You don't need to be an athlete. Grab a friend, pick a cause, plan a route, and just go.
If you'd like to support us, you can donate directly to PCD Support UK here: https://donate.justgiving.com/charity/pcdfsg/donation-amount