The bike ride has been organised by a group of friends in order to raise money for a variety of different charities that are personal to them. All of those involved are keen cyclists/mountain bikers. My invitation came as I had recently started to get into road cycling due to a wish to enter some triathlons this year (mid-life crisis perhaps?); so my friend suggested that I join up with this little adventure to get some decent training in.

There are 12 of us in total undertaking this little soiree 'across the pond' - the plan is to depart from Eastbourne Pier on the Friday night - cycle to Newhaven and catch the 4hr ferry to Dieppe; Dieppe to Paris on the Saturday (with a route that takes in all the sights of Paris) - overnight stay and then the reverse/return leg on Sunday - arriving back at Eastbourne Pier late on Sunday night. Back in work the following day (Probably walking like John Wayne).

Total round trip distance is over 250 miles and the hardest aspect may quite well be bike comfort (or discomfort) - as that is a long time to spend in the saddle. Please note I will not be shaving my legs though as that is not (as far as I'm aware) a requirement...nor will it improve aerodynamics, etc... Support comes in the form of a vehicle driven by the main organisers parents - so not quite the Tour de France.

The decision for which charity to choose was a difficult one as there are so many worthwhile causes. I am collecting for the registered charity NASS (National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society) as it is a condition that affects my family directly - my brother has suffered from AS since he was a teenager; living with the condition for the past 25 years.

The charity NASS is not as widely known as many other mainstream charities and so this is a chance for me to raise both awareness and money for NASS so that they can help other families suffering from AS.

Here are a few facts about AS

If you would like to find about more about AS then please visit the NASS website at http://nass.co.uk/about-nass/

All of the money that is donated/raised will go directly to NASS.

We are covering the cost of our own ferry journeys, accommodation, food and petrol money for the support vehicle (kindly driven by the parents of one of the participants).

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and for any donation that you do decide to make - every little really does help.

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