I have come to realise that there are actually four inevitabilities in life; birth, death, taxes, and the need once into your forties to take on an unfeasible physical challenge in aid of charity.  It’s a little known fact that more have signed up to ‘justgiving’ than twitter, it’s just we don’t like to talk about it.

One of the dads at my son’s school emailed me, and others, with the title ‘fancy a cycling challenge’.  I was still feeling frustrated and inadequate having just driven under a height restriction with my bike on the roof generally mangling it before starting the Southern Sportive in October.  In my previous major outing at the Windsor Triathlon I had a spectacular crash on the bike as someone the size of James Cracknell ruthlessly mowed me down.  At least I made it past the start line on that occasion.  So I didn’t give much thought to bullishly filling in the application form for said challenge as a way to redeem myself.

I attended the kickoff briefing last month.  Quite a professional affair as it happens, a drink and some nibbles and a bit of a presentation.  The beads of sweat on my forehead started to appear when after the introductions of various in the audience I realised I was sitting behind a chap that had ridden Le Tour de France three times.  It was at this moment it became clear that when completing my application, ranking myself as an ‘experienced cyclist’ was, well, at best, misguided.

That entire preamble means that between the 18-22^nd of February I will cycle the 700km or so from Nice to , probably against the strongest Mistral in years, for Sport Relief and the Dallaglio Foundation.  Laurence Dallaglio and a few others are actually starting in and plan to tour through each of the Six Nations venues, finishing in , as part of the ‘Cycle Slam’.  The goal is to raise £1m. 

Dallaglio has picked some good causes; (http://www.dallagliofoundation.com/about-us/benefitting-charities/other-organisations) with two personally resonating being ‘Help for Heroes’ and ‘DebRA’.  All have stories that are deeply moving and in turn make me realise that most of us don’t really have too much to worry about. 

So, it’s a common ask, but ‘please could you sponsor me?’

Bob