Thank you for taking the time to read more about the cause I'm supporting...
This Spring, cycling legend Lance Armstrong is coming out of retirement to try and win an eighth Tour de France title.
However, this is threatened to be overshadowed by an altogether more surprising return to the saddle...
Yes, this October I will be cycling across Tanzania, in average temperatures approaching 90 degrees fahrenheit.
This is despite the fact that
a) I have not sat on a bicycle, let alone ridden one, for over a decade. Lance retired in 2005.
And
b) My body has been in an almost constant state of decay for the past three years. Lance has been running regular marathons. I would assume that he is in better shape than me...
Foolishly, to achieve this goal, I have agreed to follow a cycling-specific strength and conditioning regime devised especially for the Great British cycling team at the Beijing Olympics.
I am doing all this to raise money for International Childcare Trust, a fantastic charity which, although run on a shoestring from its London office, manages to reach some of the most vulnerable children in Africa and Asia. These may be street children, child labourers, child soldiers, or those who have been displaced by extreme poverty, armed conflict and disease.
ICT has always focused on building sustainability into the projects that it supports. It is therefore not an aid agency, but a development organisation focusing on long-term rehabilitation. Its projects offer countless children a chance, where they might not otherwise have had any chance at all.
If you get a couple of minutes, please take the time to visit their website at http://www.ict-uk.org/
Save lives - £5 will pay for tetanus vaccinations for 20 kids.
Send a child to school - £40 will enable an orphaned child to buy a school uniform and shoes. These basics allow orphans the opportunity to enroll in primary school and restart their lives.
Train youths for a brighter future - £105 would help to provide bursaries for three deprived young people looking for options for the future.
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: International Childcare Trust gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation - at no extra cost to you.
So please dig deep and give as much as you can - thank you for any contribution that you can make.
Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.
