A CHARITY bike ride organised by a woman diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour has seen more than 130 cyclists hit the roads around Thornbury.

Promising the “friendliest bike ride over”, Julie Harvey, 49, organised the event with husband John to fundraise for Thornbury-based charity Brain Tumour Support, who she said “life would be so much more difficult” without.

A former activities coordinator and support worker, Julie’s life was turned upside down in November 2016 when she went into hospital complaining of a bad headache, only to undergo surgery to remove a brain tumour two days later.

But despite surgeons’ best efforts, Julie was told that the tumour had reached grade four, for which there is no cure.

Since then, she has undergone months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to halt the progress of the condition and has worked with the charity, who have given her emotional support and guidance, with Saturday’s ride her way of saying thank you.

Participants, who ranged from 12-years-old to mid-70s, were offered three routes, 33km, 65km and 85km, starting from Thornbury Sailing Club in Oldbury, with Julie saying how overwhelmed she was by the event, as everything went “like clockwork”.

“It was absolutely brilliant, way better than I could have ever have hoped it would be,” she said, “and all the riders said they really enjoyed it.

“It had a real community feel, it wasn’t the biggest event ever but it was really friendly with people at the finish line cheering people through the end.

“All the helpers, our family and friends, were fantastic,” she added, “and Thornbury Sailing Club really did us proud by hosting and volunteering their time to help with parking.”

Funds from the event are yet to be counted up, but Julie said that overall they hoped to have raised as much as £5,000 for the charity.

Julie praised the charity for their involvement on the day as well, with “nothing being too much trouble” for the representatives who handed out medals, adding that “without their support it would have been a lot harder”.

Tina Mitchell Skinner and Julie Harvey talk about the inspiration for the cycling event.

Julie said: “I’m not ill when I am on the bike, I am just Julie and that is where it comes in for me.

“I was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour and told the average person lives 12-14 months. I thought I could either take it one of two ways, you can sit on your bum and feel sorry for yourself or you can say sod it and say let’s live life.

“The chemotherapy and and radiotherapy was all incredibly hard but life is worth living and I think it takes someone to stand up and be proud.

“I have this tumour, this is me and it isn’t going away. There is no cure and no I am not going to feel sorry for myself. I am going to stand up and be counted and actually get people talking about brain tumours and living with them, not sitting in the corner and saying I’m not doing this.

“That is where Brain Tumour Support comes in, they gave me counselling for a year-and-a-half because I keep living. I walk in a room and get really sad and then come out thinking life’s alright and get on with it.”

Praising Julie for her bravery and her support for the charity, Brain Tumour Support’ founder Tina Mitchell Skinner said she had witnessed “the most amazing cycling event I have seen in a long time”.

“Julie has been an amazing champion and we can’t thank her or her family enough for the support they have given us,” she said. “She talks about all that we have done but actually it is her and her family who have supported us.”