Thank you very much for visiting my fundraising page,

After having faced my share of dust, red sand, rain, dirt and Cambodian roads of much varying conditions, I was very much looking forward to cycle the beautiful scenic route from London to Brighton in HOPE's London to Brighton Cycle Challenge.

The scenery is beautiful, but the North and South Downs means lots of hills which, again, made it a bit of a challenge....

If you would like to sponsor me and help me achieve momentum for this challenge it would be much appreciated and hopefully, to borrow an expression from Chris and Sue, we'll be Harnessing Oodlesofdosh through Pedaling and Exhaustion...!!! 

Despite weather forecasts that didn't look so promising, the English weather presented itself from its best side and I made it to the Brighton Pier safely and was met by clear blue skies and a carnival parade after roughly 5 hours in the saddle.

You don't have to be super-fit to start cycling and it's not only an healthy option, but it reduces your CO2 footprint and, as such, it is good news for the environment - both locally and globally. Cycling is also an efficient method of getting to work or school, but, unfortunately, it is not always a viable option.

In Cambodia, many families cannot afford a bicycle for their children to go to school, and, at least, not one bicycle per child... Approximately £30 will buy one bicycle providing transportation to school for a child or young adult.

If you are planning a trip to Cambodia, you might also want to check out www.angkorhotels.org where you will find a selection of cycle tours ranging from guided half- and full day cycle tours to the magnificent Angkor Wat and surrounding temples to multi-day bicycle trips across Cambodia where you will stop and visit several community projects along the way. You will also have the opportunity to see some of the projects you support live in action.

Thanks very much to all of you who have donated so far. It is very much appreciated and the donations go a long way in order to help the children and young adults in Siem Reap and Cambodia. A special thanks to Jo, Harry and Phil for lending me his bike.

Lastly, the donation page will be active for one month after the cycle ride so it's still possible to sponsor and help achieve HOPE's goals of supporting educational projects and secure the future of children and young adults in Cambodia. Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. HOPE gets your donations faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

Thank you,
Thomas