Oasis Travel has raised over £10,000 for pancreatic cancer after taking part in an extreme cycling event at the weekend. 

The agency – which includes the TTG Luxury Travel Award-winning Oasis Portfolio – was one of 22 groups to complete Pedal the Periphery, which challenges participants to cycle around the periphery of Northern Ireland for Northern Ireland Pancreatic Cancer (NIPANC) in under 48 hours. 

Beginning and ending in Lisburn, the race follows a relay format with checkpoints in spots like Ballygally, Downhill Beach and Dungannon. 

Speaking to TTG Luxury, Oasis Travel managing director Scott McCabe said that the fundraiser was especially “emotional” due to its team’s personal experience with pancreatic cancer. 

“We have over 10 people in Oasis, which is a family business, who have been affected by this illness, so a lot of us know the reality of it,” he explained. “My uncle Gary passed away from pancreatic cancer in March 2020, just when Covid was kicking off. That was how our journey with the illness began.” 

As for preparing for the relay race, McCabe credited his father for his strategic approach in dividing up the sections amongst the 20 team members. 

“My dad broke up the 480 mile route and allocated each part to a person based on their ability,” he said. “Some were given hillier parts, others had flatter parts. It was a real mix; we had people who could push themselves really hard as well as people who hadn’t been on a bike since they were a child.” 

This clever planning was crucial to successfully completing the hardest part of the route through Torr Head, a peninsula that rises to 67 metres over the sea.

“We nominated a team member named Alan Quinn to cover this part, because he is an experienced cyclist. It was pitch black because it was throughout the night, and he was going up massive hills with down treacherous descents,” McCabe added.

McCabe’s mother and Oasis Travel founder, Sandra Corkin, also got on the saddle, contributing an impressive 20 miles to the overall distance. 

The final cyclist of the team crossed the finishing line on Sunday at 10.30am at Wallace High School, where an event was held in celebration of the fundraisers’ achievement. Participants and supporters gathered together for coffee, pastries and champagne, and to toast their incredible achievement of raising over £120,000. 

McCabe said he’s looking forward to doing the fundraiser again next year, quipping, “We’re signed up for life!”