Cycling to the End of the World – Cancer Is Not for Children
We are Ida and Julie, and we have been friends since primary school. We are going on a cycling trip around the world, and in connection with this, we have chosen to focus on something very special!
All children and young people have the right to a future without illness. They should be guided by their dreams, and no disease should stand in the way. Since we were already focused on the fight against cancer, we wanted to find out what it would take to donate our hair. We might as well go all-in.
We thought that hair donation would be complicated to make happen, but it actually only required a quick Google search. Toftild Hair Donation was the first result that came up. Of course, we researched the market and chose the one that seemed the most trustworthy and professional – we chose Toftild Hair Donation! With an easy and clear guide, we took the scissors into our own hands.
Well, we didn’t completely take the scissors into our own hands. Actually, Ida’s mother cut her hair (ed. Ida), and my friend didn’t hesitate to cut mine (ed. Julie). I have always had shoulder-length hair, but when COVID came, I let my locks grow long. Since I’ve always had shorter hair, it didn’t make me nervous to cut it off in honor of someone else. But I have to say, it feels a bit strange sitting in a chair with your own ponytail lying there!
For me, Ida, it was a completely different story! I was actually quite nervous – just not about the hair donation, more about my mother’s haircutting skills! She was quick to cut off the ponytail, and once the first lock was gone, of course the rest had to go as well. I hadn’t expected it to be that short… In fact, it hasn’t been this short since I was in kindergarten. The fact that I can’t put it into a ponytail anymore is fine. My hair will grow back, and I can just use a clip to fake a little ponytail.
Hair means so much and is a big part of one’s identity as a person – especially as a girl. So if we can help someone who feels personal insecurity because they have lost their hair due to illness, it makes perfect sense for us to send it off to Toftild Hair Donation!
Our cycling trip has been planned for the past 1.5 years. We have mapped out routes, researched legislation in the different countries, and taken care of many other practical necessities. We have also been in contact with others who have cycled around the world to find out how to transport bikes and equipment by plane.
The journey goes to...
We are starting the trip in Give and cycling to Amsterdam. From there, we will fly to Cusco in Peru and then cycle down through South America to Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. We are actually going all the way to the end of the world in the southernmost part of Argentina. When we get there, we hope our hair has grown out a little so it can keep our necks warm – it’s quite cold there since it’s close to Antarctica. Then we are heading to warmer climates, where it will be very nice to have cut our locks off. We are going to the Indonesian islands, starting in Bali, where we will take a short 14-day break. After that, we will cycle around the islands for about a month in 33-degree heat. We are sure that our good deed of donating hair will benefit us in the heat! We will fly from the islands to Kyrgyzstan and cycle along the Silk Road to Tajikistan. After that, we head to the airport and fly to Hamburg, from where we will cycle home.
We have created this fundraiser in connection with our trip to raise awareness for the fight against cancer.
We hope you will support our fundraiser benefiting Cancer Is Not for Children.
