Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Simon, Bish, Jules, Theo, Sam and I are attempting the hardest cycle race we've ever heard of, l'Etape du Tour Act 1. It is a stage of the Tour de France cycling race that is open to amateurs (and fools in our case) and this year involves a seriously challenging climb that even the professionals struggle with. Only 66 miles but 3500m of climbing! Half of the race will be spent fighting our way uphill on the Col du Galibier and Alpe d'Huez, famed in Tour de France folklore for being the place where champions are made. If we are too slow we will be pulled out of the race...

We are certainly not champions. In fact we are overweight accidental cyclists who decided to take up this challenge in a pub sufficiently long ago that no-one can quite remember why we thought it might be remotely within our potential. We have bought the sexy lycra, we have smart new bikes, we have done some training, all that remains is the race....on Monday!

I am raising money for a charity called the 3Cs - Crohn's and Colitis in Childhood (www.3cs.org.uk). These inflammatory bowel diseases affect 1:400 people in the UK and are unpleasant in the extreme. They are chronic diseases causing abdominal pain, bloody diarrhoea, bowel obstruction and fistulae, malnutrition and long term systemic upset. The causes of these diseases still remain unknown and medical treatments require powerful immune supressants such as steroids that have multiple side effects. Over half will require bowel resections.

This charity was set up by a patient who has no functioning bowel left and is fed permanently into his veins. It does amazing work raising money to help sufferers enjoy better lives and it funds ongoing research into the diseases.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now. I and the 3Cs would be immensely grateful.

If I reach my £500 target, I will shave my legs (like a true cyclist), not something I would normally undertake lightly!