Cycling to the future

TEACHER and social worker Vicky Honar is planning to pedal away for a good cause and raise funds to help improve the well-being of women and babies.

On the day of her 54th birthday - March 13, 2009 - Mrs Honar will join 99 other women for a 10-day trip across Cuba and cover 340km riding to raise funds in 'Women for Women Appeal'.

Mrs Honar, a mother-of-two who lives in Saar, will be taking to the saddle for a second time for the UK-based charity and had no plans to ride again for the good cause until she spotted the date of the latest adventure.

She explained: "My first trip was Cycle India back in 2007 which was a really interesting experience but I hadn't really intended to do another.

"However, I kept receiving email from the organisation arranging these events and I noticed that this year's ride started on my birthday. I thought I was meant to be!"

Mrs Honar will be covering her own personal expenses for the trip, just under BD800 and is hoping to raise BD2,400 through sponsorship and donations for the cause.

She is the only participant from the Middle East of the eighth women-only challenge organised to fund research at the acclaimed Wolfson & Weston Research Centre for Family Research in London.

Professor Lord Robert Winston began the Women for Women Appeal to help train women scientists and clinicians of the future, pushing the boundaries of medical knowledge to improve women's health and the incidence of healthy pregnancy.

Mrs Honar also hopes to raise a further BD1,000 for Bahrain's Think Pink campaign which supports breast cancer awareness.

A midwife by profession, Mrs Honar moved to Bahrain seven years ago after 18 years in Abu Dhabi. She has also qualified as a teacher and now works as a supply teacher at St Christopher's School.

To support her Cycle Cuba endeavours Mrs Honar has been raising funds since the summer including a cup cake sale with her daughter, Persia, 11.

She said: "We collected about BD200 that day. My daughter's friends helped sell the cup cakes which all the mums helped me to prepare."

Mrs Honar also hosted a fundraising dinner at Senor Pacos restaurant as well as trying to get as fit as possible for the ride. She has undertaken a rigorous exercise regime including cycling on side roads around the villages and joining in spinning classes.

Mrs Honar's keen interest into the cause of women and helping raise funds for breast cancer is the culmination of a huge loss she faced three years ago. She said: "My sister-in-law, my brother's wife, died of breast cancer. We were very good friends and I had known her for nearly 30 years."

For the future Mrs Honar hopes to organise a Cycle Bahrain event with other charitable causes on the island. She said: "It would be nice to organise a ride and get as many people to participate. It would be a nice idea to tie-up with Think Pink and get a big group of women to participate during Think Pink month next October."

If you wish to donate and support Mrs Honar visit her website at https://www.justgiving.com/vickyhonar.