2nd Iceland Cycling Expedition aims to raise myeloma research funds
Endurance bike ride starts Aug. 27, kicks off Blood Cancer Awareness Month
The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) has announced its 2nd annual Iceland Cycling Expedition (ICE), a seven-day endurance bike ride to raise funds for the iStopMM Project and different IMF research initiatives in multiple myeloma research.
Taking place from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2, the event kicks off Blood Cancer Awareness Month, which is held each September to boost awareness of all types of blood cancer, from myeloma to leukemia and lymphoma.
According to the ICE fundraising page of Ashley Dieks, an ICE 2025 cyclist who was diagnosed with myeloma in 2022 at age 36: “Cycling doesn’t add days to my life, it adds life to my days.” To date, Dieks, of Garson, Canada, has raised more than $3,000 toward her $15,000 fundraising goal.
“Cycling became more than just a form of exercise; it became a symbol of resilience and an essential part of my mental and physical well-being,” Dieks stated in her post.
The ride will begin in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital city, with a tour of the Decode genetics building, which houses the iStopMM research project — fully known as Iceland Screens, Treats, Or Prevents Multiple Myeloma.
“The ICE biking endurance event is a signature marquee IMF Myeloma Cures fundraiser, with the goal of highlighting IMF’s diverse and robust research portfolio, deepening and strengthening the communities’ relationship to the IMF’s mission and raising critical funds to help advance the IMF’s research initiatives,” the nonprofit’s announcement states.
12 cyclists seeking to raise myeloma awareness, research funds in 2025
iStopMM is the first-of-its-kind, population-based screening study for monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, or MGUS, a precancerous condition that can potentially develop into myeloma. Because there’s a chance that MGUS will progress to active myeloma, people with this plasma cell disorder should be frequently screened.
The deCODE tour, led by iStopMM principal investigator Sigurdur Y. Kristinsson, MD, PhD, of the University of Iceland, will also include presentations on IMF’s clinical trials as well as the progress made by the iStopMM team.
Launched in 2024, the inaugural ICE event led to successful outcomes for all participants and supporters, according to the IMF. A short documentary that captured the cycling expedition was also produced, which received several honors, including winning the best documentary short at the World Film Festival in Cannes, France. The documentary will be screened at the West Chester Film Festival in Pennsylvania on April 27.
This year, a total of 12 ICE cyclists — multiple myeloma patients, care partners, and researchers — will ride from Reykjavik through the rugged highlands of Iceland. Each has an individual fundraising page to raise funds for myeloma research, but all have the same goal of curing myeloma.
[ICE 2025 is] a journey of hope, determination, resilience, and sheer willpower to conquer odds, whether fighting myeloma or withstanding the treacherous terrain of Iceland.
“I’ve always enjoyed cycling, and the idea of joining an expedition in Iceland to raise awareness for a rare cancer — while also funding crucial research — seems like a fitting next step,” Benjamin Freund, an ICE 2025 cyclist from East Canaan, Connecticut, said on his fundraising page. Also myeloma patient, Freund underwent cancer treatment in 2019. He’s raised more than $15,000 of his $25,000 goal thus far.
Katherine Podgorski, a myeloma patient from Toronto, stated on her page, “I am honored to have been selected by the IMF to participate in ICE 2025. Alongside a small team of cyclists, I will spend six days cycling through the stunning landscapes of Iceland while raising vital funds for multiple myeloma research.”
Podgorski, whose mother died of myeloma in 2017, describes herself as “a young mother of three children” determined to “move forward in the face of this challenge.”
The first expedition last year “was transformative for our participants,” said Sylvia Dsouza, IMF’s vice president of development, calling it “a journey of hope, determination, resilience, and sheer willpower to conquer odds, whether fighting myeloma or withstanding the treacherous terrain of Iceland.”
For more information on how to donate to ICE 2025, contact Dsouza at [email protected]. Donations can also be made by visiting the 2025 IMF Iceland Cycling Expedition fundraiser. The event is supported by Johnson & Johnson, GSK, Sanofi, and Arcellx and Kite.
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