I need your help again. In fact some would say I just need help.
After having run the marathon and ridden to Paris, I've decided it's time for a real challenge. So after a period of convalescence following a painful, but successful operation to remove a deeply embedded saddle and spare inner tube, I'm going to get back on my bike. This time it's Spain and the mountains of the Sierra Nevada.
In September I'm riding from Granada to the Mediterranean through some of the highest mountains in Europe, including an assent of almost 3000m and hopefully a descent of roughly the same proportions on the other side. It's the same route that the professional riders will follow two weeks earlier as part of the 'Tour of Spain'. This should take me three days, two wheels and one tub of vaseline.
Apart from being clinically insane, my other reason for subjecting myself to the pain and humiliation of such an ill-advised enterprise is to raise much needed funds for Children's Hospices UK (CHUK).
There are over 20,000 children in the UK that, because of terminal illness, are unlikely to make it through to adulthood. CHUK provides access to the highest standards of hospice care for these children and their families. The organisation supports over 40 hospices right across the UK and is funded entirely by charitable donations.
I know my request comes at a difficult and uncertain time, but I can tell you from personal experience that a visit to one of these hospices puts all of life's issues into perspective. The dedication of the staff, the devotion of the parents and families and the courage of these amazing children is both an inspirational and humbling experience.
They need our help. I'm going to do what I can, please give what you can.
Wish me luck
Wallace
