Friday, 19 November 2010 07:41
Cancer survivor Mark Thjis on bike for eight
Mark Thjis is one of the heroes of the 2010 edition of the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge.
Despite being diagnosed with bladder cancer last year and having to undergo six operations and three sets of chemo therapy, Thjis is still trying to live each day to its fullest and he never shies away from a challenge.
Shortly before last year's Cycle Challenge he had to undergo a chemo stint but that didn’t stop him from riding. “I decided on an ‘easy’ ride in a cow suit on behalf of CHOC. This is a worthy cause close to my heart. Together with the help and support of friends and family, I raised close to R100 000 and that made it all worthwhile,” he said.
On Sunday Thjis will be joining the “Cows” again but this time round he is going one better. He will be piloting an 8-seater tandem with Derek Nitch on the back seat as his “stoker”. The idea is to take teams of kids aged between 8-12 and ride from water point to water point, changing teams at each point.
Thjis is under no illusion as to what awaits him and Derek. “It’s going to be a long and very hard day in the saddle. I used to be able to do the Cycle Challenge in around 2 hours and 30 minutes, but on Sunday we will be cycling for about 8 hours. Our goal is to try and raise R500 000 for CHOC,” Thjis said.
There is a story about the 8-seater tandem. It was originally built for the Rosenkowitch sextuplets kids 30 years ago. “I managed to track the bike down and it has been kindly loaned to me by Roy Gardner.”
Cycling is a passion for Thjis and it’s an uplifting experience listening to him. You won’t hear him complain or become even slightly negative, despite the challenges he’s had to face in his battle against the “Big C”
He casually mentions that a week after the Cycle Challenge he will be back in hospital to have two more cancerous tumours removed and that he will have to undergo chemo therapy again.
But he remains undeterred. He has already set his cycling goals for next year. “I am going to try and win the individual time trial in my age group (49 years) at the South African Road Championship in February. I was the champion when I was 45 years old.
“Setting myself constant new goals is how I manage to keep positive,” he said, adding: “People shouldn’t feel sorry for me when they find out that I’ve got cancer. I am still enjoying life and I have never been as fit as I am now.
“Being diagnosed with cancer has helped me get a new perspective on life. I used to think that I could only be happy and successful if I drove expensive cars and have lots of money.
“But I realise now that happiness and success have nothing to do with money. It’s is all about being healthy and making sure that you live life to the fullest.
“I have sold my business and gone on semi retirement to take care of my health. Being unable to race as competitively as in the past, I have still managed to complete a few gruelling cycle tours. These include Tour de Tuli in Botswana, Cape Epic and the Namibian Tour.”
For further information on the Cycle Challenge and its subsidiary events log onto www.highveld.co.za
Interview by Wynand de Villiers
Add comment
