CDawgVA and Abroad in Japan's Charity Cyclethon 4 Reaches Record Breaking Heights!

Kevin Gault
6 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

The team celebrates their incredible arrival at Toranomon Hills in Tokyo with hundreds of fans in attendance. (Photo Credit GeeXPlus)

Connor Colquhoun (CDawgVA) and Chris Broad (Abroad in Japan) have done it again, raising over $1 Million for the Immune Deficiency Foundation (IDF) for the second year in a row! This year, they have smashed last year's impressive record by raising $1,069,561 and still counting. Charity Cyclethon 4 has been a massive success!

A Journey for a Cause

Cycling 1,200 km from Hokkaido to Tokyo over 15 days, this team achieved something incredible. The Immune Deficiency Foundation advocates for those living with Primary Immunodeficiency (PI) and raises funds to have doctors educated on the topic as well as helping patients get matched with specialists to help them with their illness. The donation link through Tiltify is still open, but if you can't support financially, donating plasma and blood is immensely helpful and important.

While many people focus solely on the raising of a million dollars and the many multi-thousand dollar donations, I think it is important to acknowledge that it is the small donations that make the big numbers possible. Chris and Connor don't get on the bikes with the goal of raising a million, they do it to raise as much as they can for an amazing charity.

An emotional finish to an incredible achievement, Chris and Connor share a heartfelt hug. (Photo Credit: Kevin Gault)

Pedaling with Purpose - The Faces of the Cyclethon

In addition to Connor and Chris (whose bios can be found here in our last Cyclethon article), we were joined by several returning guests and some new faces too such as Felix "PewDiePie", Rob "Robcdee", Garnt "Gigguk", Sharla "Sharmeleon", Demon Queen VTuber "Ironmouse" and Pete "PremierTwo".

A drone photo taken crossing a bridge in Hokkaido — The Absolute Cinema of the views Chris and Connor showed us over the last two weeks showcase the endless beauty of Japan, be it city or countryside.

Returning as well are Pete's fellow members of the "Van Gang", Ian Rudd and "Cameraman Paul Ballard". With the vital assistance of Nabi "NabiruPlays" and Takeru alongside the "GeeXPlus" team and Connor's mods responding to every call to "fix it!" keeping the event running smoothly for more than two weeks.

A Community Coming Together

Connor, Chris, and Mouse's work with the Immune Deficiency Foundation began as a rallying cry to help a cause that has made an impact in Mouse's life and helped her with her Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID). She was truly the catalyst that got this whole thing going, scarcely 20 minutes could go by during the Cyclethon without a Text To Speech donation making a call for donations from the "Ironmouse Defense Force". I had a realization while present at the Cyclethon 4 finish line in Toranomon Hills; this community's drive to raise funds for the IDF has gone beyond Ironmouse. That is NOT to discredit the incredible contributions that Mouse has made. This was only possible thanks to her. However, the shared communities within this space have shifted in mentality away from "do this for Mouse" and towards "do this for the cause, and ALL of those that need it". That is something that I feel Connor, Mouse, Chris, and the rest of the team would be incredibly proud of. The excitement and feeling of joint purpose was electric in that crowd, and I am proud to have been part of it.