Hi everyone I’m competing in the Ride London 100 mile cycling event on 31st July and raising money for Bede. I’m always keen to support smaller charities in particular who work in the local community and Bede have been doing a great job supporting local communities in Southwark (where I live and work) since being founded in 1938. Like all small charities they rely heavily on fundraising to keep helping build strong and confident communities. That’s why I’m aiming to raise at least £500 for Bede.

I regularly cycle to work and home again on my mountain bike - a total of only around 10 miles a day. I’ve no experience of long distance cycling so for me riding for 100 miles with Ride London over the hills of Surrey is a real challenge. I’ve had to buy myself quite a bit of new kit, including my first road bike which is a fantastic lightweight Giant, second hand from a friend. For the past few weekends I have been hitting the hills to get myself in shape, along with my training buddy Andy.

At the start of July we tackled the hills of the High Weald, led by Peter 'Legs of Steel' Massini who lives locally. I don’t think my legs knew what hit them! For any budding cyclists I'd reiterate that wearing proper cycling shoes makes a big difference to maximise efficiency. Although I have had a few wobbly moments coming to a stop and forgetting my feet are clipped in.....I’ve still got quite a bit of training to do before 31st July but I’m (fairly) confident it’ll be alright on the day...fingers crossed for good weather!

Any donation would be fantastic, no matter how large or small.

Many thanks

Matt

http://www.bedehouse.org.uk/