I am cycling 55 miles from London to Brighton on Sunday 15 September with colleagues and friends of the hospice.

Oh yes, I'm doing it on my Brompton folding bike!

We will start in Clapham and travel out of London, through Sussex, conquering Turners Hill and Ditchling beacon before a triumphant finish at Brighton seafront.

Our goal is to collectively fundraise enough to provide five and a half days of community rehab and physio support for people with a terminal illness (my personal goal is to not slow the team down too much on my little bike)

That's one day for every 10 miles we cycle!

Your donation will help to give our patients a responsive rehabilitation and physiotherapy service at home. Palliative care patients don't get the support they need from standard NHS services because there tends to be a waiting list and then the standard practice is to have six weeks of intensive intervention, which doesn't match the up-and-down nature of our patient's illnesses.

In the words of our patients and staff:

"Our work is about supporting independence and dignity with the activities that matter to people.

For some people the important things is getting to the toilet on time without their family having to help. Others want to make a meal, paint a picture or just get help coping with their breathlessness.

I recently visited a young lady whose final wish was to attend a show with her family. She was incredibly weak and needed support to enable the trip. The standard theater seating wouldn't suit her needs, so I spoke with the venue to secure a wheelchair-accessible box. I also arranged for the hospice to loan her a special tilt-in-space wheelchair so she could attend in comfort, on what ended up being their final outing as a family."

- Mike Griffin, Occupational Therapist

"After falling at home in 2012 I was only able to move around in a wheelchair. I felt so limited.

The rehab team started working with me in 2015 and got me walking again. It was fab and I was on a high! What an incredible feeling to walk again."

- Carol, patient from Kensal Rise

Thank you for reading and thinking about sponsoring us for the challenge!