As some of you know, I quite like to cycle. It's fun. It's good for you. It's kind to the planet. And it's cheap (well, ignoring the Ultegra and Dura Ace upgrades, the new wheels and the other "shiny" bits that, as a keen cyclist, I like to pretend that I need in order to make my cycling better!). Anyway, I quite like cycling. But this is something different. I've done 100k rides before. I've done 40 and 50k mountain bike challenges. But I've never cycled across 3 countries to get home before - and I've certainly never done it in preference to a perfectly good seat on an aeroplane, which I've had booked for a couple of months. Let me explain...

With the rest of the videogames and interactive entertainment industry I'll be out at Gamescom, the uber-large consumer trade show, next week, held in Cologne. I fly out on Tuesday 14th August and undertake 3 days of meetings, networking and all the other stuff that goes on at these things. And then, according to my ORIGINAL plan, I was going to fly home on Friday, arriving in London at a nice early 6pm, ready for the weekend. However, I got wind of a group of lovely friends a colleagues who, for a very, very worthwhile cause, have decided to stay an extra night and then start the 500km cycle back to Brighton, aiming to arrive back on our fair shores on the morning of Tusday 22nd August. I called James and asked whether there was any space. He gave me an emphatic "yes!". I took my bike to the support team so that they could drive it down to Germany for me. And now I'm looking longingly at that seat on a Germanwings 737 and thinking "what the hell have I signed up for..."

So that's what I'm doing. All 8 of us are going to saddle up on the morning of Saturday 18th August and then head west, through the remainder of Germany, into Belgium and then down through NE France, heading for the port of Dieppe to catch the ferry to Newhaven. 

Gamesaid, the games industry charity that you'll be helping to support, distributes funds to an array of childrens and young people's charities. It really is a worthwhile cause and, as I always say, your support will make a massive difference to countless young lives.

Please give as little as you want (or as much as you can afford) and, upon my return, I'll regale you with stories of foreign roads, chamois butter and (probably) dodgy belgium beer.

Thankyouverymuch xxxxxxx