But Janette Dyall’s legacy lives on in the achievements of Ride24, and an event soon to come.

Janette died last Monday after a three-year fight with breast cancer.

She was 53 years old. 

Janette was a beloved daughter, mother, wife, sister, aunt, and friend.

Those closest to her knew her to be a private person – but breast cancer was the exception to the rule.

If sharing her experiences of breast cancer could help reduce its burden on other families, Janette was happy to put herself out there.

Her brother, Paul Dalton, provided the platform for the family’s efforts to raise awareness and support for services aiding people affected by breast cancer.

Inspired by the resilience and courage with which his sister had handled her illness, Paul decided to undertake an endurance test of his own.

On the morning of March 3, he started the first of many laps of the Tom Flood Sports Centre in Bendigo.

Friends and family visited the track throughout Paul’s 24-hours of cycling to cheer him on.

Janette was there to meet him as he completed his final lap – a moment of celebration he treasured.

“One of the things I’ll never forget was the community spirit from Bendigo people,” Paul said.

He had company for several of the laps as fellow cyclists and loved ones showed their support by getting on their bikes. 

The community was also generous in its financial contributions, giving more than $50,000 to the cause.

Of that sum, Ride24 donated more than $45,000 to the McGrath Foundation to help expand its network of breast care nurses.

A further $5000 went towards the Bendigo Health Cancer Centre, where Janette had received treatment.

“As soon as I finished Ride24 I thought, that’s it, every year I’m going to be doing something,” Paul said.

So he applied for the Tour de Cure, a cycling event aimed at raising money for cancer research.

Raising awareness of the fact one in three cancers are preventable is also among the initiative’s goals.

“This is on a massive scale, this Tour de Cure,” Paul said.

As a participant in the signature tour, he will embark on a grueling 1110-kilometre route through Far North Queensland.

At each stop along the way, the tour will donate $10,000 to a local cancer initiative.

A schools program is also part of the tour, encouraging children to ‘Be Fit, Be Healthy, Be Happy’ and limit their exposure to factors that can increase the risk of cancer.

They include sun exposure, being overweight, a lack of physical activity, eating too much red and processed meat, not eating enough fruit and vegetables, drinking too much alcohol, and smoking.

The signature Tour de Cure starts on April 27 in Mackay and ends on May 5 in Cairns.

Paul said his sister had been proud to learn he’d be participating in the event.

“One of the biggest thrills out of it is, I’ve actually been accepted into the Sunrise team with Mark Beretta,” he said.

“She [Janette] was just thrilled with it, thought it was the greatest thing ever.”

Janette’s lifelong friend, Geraldine Bateman, said the plan had been for Janette and her husband Paul Dyall to meet the Tour de Cure riders and support crew along the route.

“She'll be with us the whole way, no matter what,” Geraldine said.

Despite having been part of the support crew for six previous tours, Geraldine said this year’s signature tour would be ‘pretty special’ for her.

In addition to Paul being one of the riders, Geraldine’s niece is joining the support crew.

Geraldine lost her brother, Bendigo inspector and National Police Service Medal recipient Gerry Rudkins, to cancer in 2012.

“His daughter is coming with me,” Geraldine said.

Click here to support Paul’s ride in the Tour de Cure, or here to support Geraldine’s participation as part of the support crew.