I always planned to mark my retirement with a challenge of some sort. Unfortunately, the blessing of two children and some annoying little health issues got in the way of that. As the burden of both is starting to ease, I have decided to finally get on with it.

This cycle ride joins two places that are special to me. I lived in South Cumbria for nearly ten years and met Penny there. Holy Island is a magical place I visited several times as a student at Durham University. 

The route is planned over several days to allow me to spend some time with my family along the way and for them to get involved too. The children will see the church we were married, we'll get to enjoy the Lakes together, walk along Hadrian's Wall, see the un-light-polluted skies of Northumbria (well, maybe) and get to watch the tide flood the causeway to Lindisfarne and cut us off on the island.

The ride will be around 185 miles and take in a little over 13,000 feet of ascent. I am hoping to complete 2,000 km in training for this event. 2,000 children die every day as a result of diarrhoea contracted from insanitary water.

I had supported clean water charities for a number of years before I met the inspirational CEO of FRANK Water. In the developed world we fill our heads full of puff and nonsense, we invest importance in trivialities, while millions of people just want life's most basic needs. One of them is clean water, which we waste on an industrial scale for things like throwaway fashion. It's only an accident of birth that gives us that dubious privilege. 

Head over to FRANK Water's website and see the practical things they are doing to help communities to have access to safe water and see the ways it changes lives for the better. The Queen did and she was so impressed, she gave Katie an MBe