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In 2 days time I am joining an intrepid band of 14 'mamil's (middle aged men in lycra) on a charity bike ride from Guildford to Lille in France. Having bought a racing bike last autumn in a desperate bid to stave off middle aged spread, I was looking around for a decent challenge to keep me motivated. When I was offered a place on this mini adventure it was just too good to miss. 

260 odd miles in 4 days will be somewhat out of my rather considerable comfort zone, so I have been trying to get miles under my belt over the summer, churning through the lanes and over the downs of Surrey. Hopefully my increased fitness allied to a reduced waistline will hold me in good stead in France.

The whole trip is in aid of Great Ormond Street, the famous hospital which does so much fantastic work for children. Had I been given the choice of charity, this would have been near the top of my list, so I was obviously very happy with its selection. 

So if you feel you might like to donate to this worthy cause, please also think of the pain I will be experiencing and have gone through over the last few months to prepare for this, not to mention the mental torture for Carol and the girls having to put up with me strutting around pretending to be Sir Bradley. Surely this is worth a small contribution?!

Being serious for a minute, please, please don't feel obliged to make a donation. I know that there is huge pressure to donate to so many worthy causes these days, so please only give if you feel it is the right thing to do.

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.

Update after day 1 (from Carol)

Well, I'm now back safely in the UK after our little French adventure. As you will have heard, the first afternoon was a little confused as we criss-crossed the Surrey / Hampshire border trying to pick up a late arriving rider, but once this was achieved we made good progress and got to Hayling Island in time to get the short ferry to Portsmouth. We were pretty tired by the end though, having had to haul ourselves up several extremely steep hills over the South Downs.

After a pub meal we managed to get on the ferry in plenty of time with a smooth overnight crossing allowing a decent night's sleep. After coffee and croissants at a cafe in Le Havre, we set off on the roads towards Dieppe. 

The morning was rather full-on as we battled into a stiff easterly headwind, but this didn't deter a few of the younger riders from setting a 'challenging' pace. If you didn't stay tightly in the Peleton of riders, you risked being dropped quickly off the back, from where there was no way back. By lunch time we were all tiring, so a leisurely meal in a French auberge was very welcome. The afternoon was taken at a more gentle pace, but we were all very happy when we rolled through the gates of our hotel in Dieppe around 6.15pm. After a beer and a shower we sat down to a lovely meal in the hotel restaurant - perfect!

The next day we headed off towards Le Touquet. The easterly headwind was still there, but the roads were less exposed and the pace a little more sensible, so we noticed it a lot less in the morning. Lunch was spent on the seafront at Saint Valery sur Somme before we headed north up the coast. Some of the saved energy from the morning was then expended in a series of mini-sprints which a number of others were to regret by the end of the day! Le Touquet was rather splendid and had a very lively atmosphere when we arrived (it was British week apparently). We enjoyed another terrific meal in a local seafood restaurant before retiring to bed to gird our loins for the long day ahead to Lille.

The last day was always going to be tough as we needed to do a minimum of 77 miles in time to catch the evening Eurostar back to London, and with the wind still in our faces we couldn't hang around. Losing several miles to a dead end road (and a big hill done for nothing) and then a broken spoke on one of the bike's wheels didn't help in this regard, so the day felt more of a slog than the others. For me it was made worse because my sugar level kept dropping forcing me to take on more and more sugar - by mid afternoon I was feeling pretty rough, but there was no choice but to crack on. In the end we made it into the centre of Lille in good time, allowing us to grab a shower and a quick final beer before heading for the station. A good number of the group stayed on for the night and rode to Brussels the next day (hats off to them!) but I came back that evening, getting home by 10.45pm. 

Overall it was a fantastic experience, albeit a hard one at times, having completed 285 miles, 9000 ft of climbing and 22 hours in the saddle. Socially it was great fun, but I also learned a lot about myself and what I could manage on a bike, which will help a lot in the future. I've never done anything remotely like this before, but I'm sure this won't be the last! 

Can I thank everyone who's donated or sent messages of support. It helps massively to keep the motivation up when your legs are tired, your back is stiff and frankly you just want to be off the bike (but can't). 

Paul