The Reason

Victoria (pictured) is the very brave 12-year-old daughter of a good friend of mine. She, unfortunately, contracted Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia 3 months ago and is now going through two and a half years of chemotherapy. The treatment leaves her exhausted and her immune system weakened, which clearly impacts the life of a young girl who used to be full of energy, loved to be outdoors and has a real passion for nature.

Victoria's father Paul tells me she always puts others first and recently said she is glad it is her who contracted the illness, instead of her sisters, as she feels she "can deal with it better than they could".

The charity CALM has provided much needed emotional, financial and practical help to Victoria's whole family during this challenging time, including activities for her siblings, to ensure they are able to maintain a normal life.  As her treatment progresses, Victoria is hoping to be able to join in with these activities too.

As well as providing emotional, financial and practical help, CALM is also dedicated to funding childhood cancer research to help fight the battle against cancer. CALM regularly gives grants to regionally based research projects and towards Bone Marrow transplantation.

CALM is run entirely on a voluntary basis, so all donations go directly to support their good work. 

You can learn more about CALM from their website at http://calmcharity.org

The Challenge

Having completed a Lands End To John O'Groats trip last year, in memory of my son Will (see my blog at https://lejog4will.wordpress.com), its time to get out there and raise much-needed funding for another worthy cancer-related charity.

The aim of this challenge is to cycle across France, entirely unsupported, from St Malo in the north to Nice on the Riviera, with the chosen route totaling 1000 miles +. This means I am again carrying my tent and all my other equipment and will have nothing arranged in terms of accommodation, water or food stops. I will source all my needs as I travel.

The route will take me through the following regions of France; Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Poitou-Charentes, Dordogne, Lot, Cevennes-Ardeche, Rhone, Provence: Pays du Ventoux and finally Provence: Alpes-Maritime

The trip will commence on 7th September 2017 and it is likely to take around 3 weeks but this will depend on many factors, not least of which will be how I cope with the hills, the heat and my general lack of fitness!

As before, if anyone would like to track my progress via gps, join me on a leg of the journey, or simply follow my blog, please let me know.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

The 'Small Print'

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.