Three years ago this month I was sorting my belongings into boxes and counting tablets into piles. I'd set the date to end my life and all the preparations were in place. My plans were carried through on the 5th February but fate intervened. A trip to ICU, three stays as a mental health inpatient and ongoing intensive therapy have followed

Part of living with an ongoing mental health problem is finding a sense of purpose and meaning to support recovery. Something, anything that makes facing the day worthwhile.

Last year I took part in Get Britain Riding as a way of improving my health and starting to recover, setting goals and meeting new people. I was chosen as one of the Ambassadors and won a bike and cycling kit from Decathlon. One of my goals was to take part in a charity ride which I did for the EACH - Ride for Life. Much as there was a sense of achievement from getting out on my bike and cycling the bigger sense of achievement came from the three days peddling with others raising money for a new hospice.

This year I will still have the same internal battles to fight; there is no cure for what’s wrong with my mind it can only be managed.

2018 is going to be my year of raising awareness of mental health and recovery by taking part in as many Cycling events and challenges as I can across the UK. I hope to show that even though mental health issues can be debilitating at times it doesn’t mean sufferers can’t make a difference or take on a challenge.

I’ve already registered for Chase the Sun - a 17 hour marathon ride that crosses the UK from Kent to Somerset.

Achieving the target would enable me to cycle:

London to Paris, Wales End to End, Wicklow 200 and Lands End to John O'Groats

I started training in May for my first charity ride last year. Heres a link to a video that shows just how much work I put in:

My Training Year