Some time mid 2012 I had the bright idea of setting myself the goal of riding from London to Paris; my family unkindly tell me this was a clear symptom of a delayed mid-life crisis; so it seemed only right that they should come along for the ride too!  Nikki is excused for being heavily pregnant (again) and Robs recently ruptured his Achilles tendon so he’s been promoted to the logistics team with Julia (who thinks bike-riding is a gym based activity). So the riders are me, Mark, Tor and Cousin Lucie.  Our trip will be nearly 300 miles over the end of May Bank Holiday weekend, leaving London at 8am on Friday and aiming to cycle down the Champs Elysees in time for supper on Sunday.

We’ve been training hard ( currently averaging between 50 and 100 miles a week) – 100 miles a day for 3 days still feels pretty big at this stage!

But our 3 day trip is as nothing compared with the challenge faced by life-limited children and their families; so we decided that we’d like to challenge ourselves, and our friends, to help us raise as much as we can towards the work of Shooting Star CHASE, a children’s hospice service, the CHASE part of which was started, by Julia, round our kitchen table more than 20 years ago. So far, more than 1000 families have been able to access support 24 hrs a day, every day through a blend of hospice-at-home support and respite, palliative and end of life care, in our two respite centres.  This service costs £8m a year to run and only receives around 6% in statutory funding.

I feel blessed every day when I think of my own wonderful family; I know that  we cannot alter the journey’s end for these special children, and their families, but we can do a bit towards giving them the best possible time for living, for how however long that might be.  Please help us to help them if you can. 

Many thanks.