Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I was casually invited to take part in this ride by a friend last year, and notionally agreed to the idea without reading into the details too seriously. Three months to go and I'm officially signed up with a motivated group of 15 riders. Yeehaa!…….BUT the terrifying facts are starting to sink home! 

A week off work on my bike in the mountains…..is a dream come true in itself, but hang on minute, the 'Biking for Ben' team will traverse the pyrenees mountains with a coast to coast distance of 630 km (400miles) over 6 days with an ascent of over 55,000 feet (approx. 10 miles or 16kms). There are 12 Cols to climb and they are all horrible. So horrible in fact, that some say the Tour de France organisers (unlike our organisers) include only a few of them each year to ensure riders don't go on strike (strikes or 'greves' are common in France). You may have heard of the famous Col du Tourmalet, Col d'Aubisque and Col d'Aspin, the three most used Cols in the 100 year history of the race. Thats a serious challenge for someone who these days probably spends more time drinking beer than riding bikes, so why?

Thats when I learnt about whats really behind 'Biking for Ben'. Its all about a husband and dad called Ben who died too young and is greatly missed by his family  and friends. It's a sad truth, but like me I'm sure that many of you reading this know of other families in this tragic situation. The good news is that this charity can really help children and families cope with the future. (see their page at http://www.winstonswish.org.uk).

I'm going to start training right after this beer, but you can really help by sponsoring our worthy challenge - THANKS:)

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.