Kira is an incredible girl who has spent (more than) one third of her life battling neuroblastoma.
She was first diagnosed in August 2014, aged eleven. Following extensive treatment, Kira enjoyed just fourteen weeks in remission before the disease reared its ugly head once more, as indeed it has on multiple occasions since.
Kira has undergone successive rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, stem cell transplants and clinical trials.
It was the last of those trials that has transformed Kira’s teenage life. Her neuroblastoma was deemed incurable in January 2019 but since that time, she has been prescribed an experimental agent in palliative therapy: whilst not curing the disease, it has allowed her to resume a normal teenage life, to the extent that she has graduated from High School and been offered places at both Glasgow and Edinburgh universities to study child nursing.
To say that Kira is a fighter would be an understatement. To say that Kira has taken on this battle with all of her heart and soul would be an understatement. Kira is special, and this road honours her journey in a place that’s close to her heart.
This road, a virtual gift to mark her 18th birthday, spells out Kira The Machine in Manhattan, criss crossing the New York skyline on a rollicking, challenging 18 mile circuit: at 10.5 miles (17km) the road passes over the site of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKC) on the eastern side of the city where Kira had life-saving surgery in 2018.
Kira is proof that neuroblastoma can somehow be accommodated while research continues at a pace for a significantly improved outcome: she has proven over and over again that she truly is a machine. By supporting Ride2Cure Neuroblastoma, which is funding Solving Kids Cancer in helping to promote research, you can be a part of the search for a cure.
So take yourself across to RGT Cycling, import Kira’s magic road then challenge yourself in honour of her journey.
RGT Magic Road code: uMBlS4lhEV5S
Max elevation: 552 ft
Min elevation: 326 ft
Total climbing: 682 ft
Total descent: -665 ft