Once again I am dusting the cobwebs off my bicycle to cycle around local churches in Leicestershire to raise funds for Leicestershire Historic Churches Trust, who support the life and upkeep of our community churches.

I've seen first hand during my curacy the amazing work small, faithful, loving church fellowships do in and for their local communities, against a backdrop of scant resources. This is something I can do to help support their work, but I need your help in sponsoring me!

As I prepare to move on from curacy to new horizons, my focus for this year's Ride & Stride is more on distance than number of churches visited. I would like to visit all the churches in my current benefice of Avon-Swift (rural south Leicestershire), and all the churches in my original curacy benefice of The Four Saints (in and around Countesthorpe) - fifteen churches (plus other churches in the vicinity) over a distance of 40+ miles. I am not a natural athlete and this will be easily my longest bike ride for many a year, if not ever, so please do sponsor me generously as this will be quite the challenge!

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.

Thank you.