Happy New Year!

 

Following a rather unsuccessful attempt to complete my first triathlon last October, where I fell off my bike (!), 2010 (February 11^th – 17^th) will see me embarking on a new cycling challenge where I will join Lawrence Dallaglio and others, cycling from Rome to Nice.

 

Lawrence Dallaglio is attempting to cycle from Rome to Edinburgh via all 6 Nations stadiums in an epic 2,800km ride. He will start in Rome then onto Paris, Twickenham, Cardiff, Dublin and finishing in Edinburgh on 13th March, all in order to raise over £1 million for charity. I will be joining him on the “very hilly” first leg of this adventure, cycling 679 km over 5 days, from Rome to Nice. Day One will start with 100km to cover between Rome and Bolsena. The pace steps up on Day Two; there are 167km of hard cycling ahead before reaching San Gimignano for an overnight stay and a glorious rest day. On Day Four we will be pushing the pedals 135 km to La Spezia. From here we will take the coastal road all the way to Arenzano... then Day Five takes us 121km from Arenzano to San Remo. All I need to do is to forget about the nightmare of my Triathlon experience now that the grazes and grit from the Barcelona roads have finally disappeared and try not to fall of my bike in front of a rugby legend!

 

The aim of the challenge is to raise money for Sport Relief and the newly formed Dallaglio Foundation.

 

·         Sport Relief brings the entire nation together to get active, raise cash and change lives.  All the money raised is spent helping poor and disadvantaged people turn their lives around - in the UK as well as the world’s poorest countries

 

·         The Dallaglio Foundation currently supports Cancer Research UK, Help for Heroes, the RPA Benevolent Fund, Leukaemia Research and DebRA.

 

Needless to say the thought of this task ahead is terrifying me! I’ve got less than six weeks to get rid of my Christmas gut and get in shape for what is becoming a very daunting yet exciting challenge.

 

As part of my involvement with this challenge, I have committed to raising over £3,000 for the charities involved. I would be extremely grateful if you are able to support me and sponsor me in aid of these very worthy causes. 

 

For more information on the challenge please visit www.dallagliocycleslam.com or e-mail me willmarien@gmail.com.

 

Best wishes,

 

Will