999+ miles - 9 days - 9 countries

Please “dig deep” for Cancer Research !

In September 2008, Alison (my wife) and Marey, the wife of Dr Tim Frank (my best cycling buddy), were both diagnosed with cancer. Sadly Marey passed away in 2009. Following surgery and chemo, Alison continues to make great progress, largely due to her ongoing treatment and support emanating from Cancer Research UK (CRUK). We formed a new CRUK Committee, Inspired Living (IL), as a positive response to these experiences, with the following objectives:

· Raise £1m for Cancer Research UK

· Inspire healthier lifestyles (small changes in exercise/diet)

This year, our fundraising focus is a 9 day 1,000 mile ride from Winchester to Venice starting on 7th September 2012. We will be travelling through 9 countries, over the 2nd highest paved road in The Alps (Stelvio Pass), and over The Dolomites. We have 30 cyclists participating, and all our sponsorship goes directly to Cancer Research UK with participants "paying their way".

We have secured assistance from many individuals and organisations to whom we are most grateful. These include Stannah, Square One Construction, Micro Focus, BT and IBM. Stannah are providing the long wheelbase support van (“the sweeper”) plus fuel for both the van and the riders (i.e. picnic lunches en route!)

Training is taking a lot of time, peaking at 250 miles some weeks, but personal experience and access to CRUK’s amazing Southampton Research Lab confirm that together we can “make a difference”.

For more details please see: www.inspiredliving.org.uk

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.