Lesotho is a small country of just over 2 million people land-locked inside South Africa. It also has the world's second highest prevalence of HIV. Almost 1 in 4 people there live with the condition. This has had, and continues to have, a devastating effect on the country's youth - more than 160,000 children have been orphaned. It has to stop.

Since 2005 Kick4Life have been working to improve the lives and opportunities for young people in Lesotho. They are a charity committed to social change, using sport to reach out to those who are vulnerable and provide them with the support and education needed to realise a healthy future. Unlike a lot of bigger charities Kick4Life are a relatively small organisation working directly on the ground - this model means the money they raise is spent on those who most need it and not on maintaining costly infrastructure. I've heard first hand about the direct impact they have through our friends Wayne and Tess, who worked with Kick4Life in Lesotho for a number of years. Their stories spurred me to sign up for this event - cheers guys!

On a personal level this is a huge challenge. I've always been involved in sport and over the last few years have got more and more into road cycling (I have my Dad to thank for that!). I go out at the weekends, rode across Denmark a few years ago with mates and did London to Paris in 2015. But I've never tried anything the scale of this. Now that I'm turning 30 though it feels like it's time to do something big! Am I mad? Possibly. Will it hurt? Definitely. But this is an opportunity to raise money and awareness for a brilliant cause, and at the same time prove to myself that I have what it takes to prepare and complete this kind of event. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my page. Your help and support is what allows this amazing charity to keep changing the lives of young people in Lesotho. Cheers!