On 1st September 2008 I will be one of a team of 12 cyclists with an average age of 45 to set off on a 17 day trip to ride across America. The route will cover a little over 3,000 miles meaning a daily average of around 200 miles. To achieve our goal we will split into 3 teams of 4 riders and each day we will each ride 60-70 miles.

There are 3 reasons I have volunteered to get involved in this, and these are.

1.  At 45 years old I am becoming a lazy oaf who struggles to walk around a golf course without wheezing, and I want to become a 'born again athlete'.

2.  It will hopefully prove to be a lifetime experience and one that I would probably never get the chance to do again.

3.  Hope House; to accomplish such an acheivement and at the same time doing it for the good of others who are less fortunate will give me an enormous sense of pride. Often the cliche is used 'giving something back', but quite frankly it is a privilege to be able to.

For full detials about ride4hope, log on to www.gmfundraising.co.uk

Please please dig deep and give whatever you can, I would love to beat my personal target above and help the team to raise over £100,000. Not only will every donation inspire me along the way but I promise to show you the blisters when I get back!!    Thank you