Every year in January, Paul Skelly, much loved supporter of this charity, would ride 400 miles for Ordinary 2 Extraordinary. Ten miles each and every day plus one day with a 100 mile ride, for a total of 400 miles, whatever the winter weather. Sadly, Skelly is no longer with us but o2e had carried on this legacy over the last years.

2020 was a rubbish year. For people, for companies, but also for charities. O2e's fundraising events depend on people being able to go out and push their boundaries, which was curtailed in 2020 to say the least. Also, two of their major fundraising events (Kev's Big Ride and the annual Gala Dinner) had to be cancelled so that's another big blow to them.

So to kick off 2021, O2e have decided to raise the bar, not just carry on Skelly's legacy like they did, but make it something bigger, blow the roof off, so to speak. "Team Skelly Conquers the Globe" started out with an idea to cycle/walk/swim/jump/row/dig a combined 25,000 miles. So here we are.

In my case, seeing I wrote off my road bike in-between lock-downs in 2020, I have no trusty steed to use indoors or outdoors! Ordering a new bike would put me square in the middle of "Skelly Conquers the Universe 2022", and I can't wait for that. So I have decided to make use of what I have, and committed to row the distance of 400km during the month of January on my home rower. For those not rowing regularly, that's rowing at a steady pace for about an hour a day. 

It didn't stop there: When my kids saw me training, they wanted in, and when they said they were in, my wife had no chance to say no. So together, we are now trying to row a total of 400 miles during this month. That's 640km!

As per above, 2020 was a rubbish year for many, so I don't expect those that had a really tough one to give money. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones first. But for those that can find a few extra pounds of unspent pub/restaurant/taxi/tube money in their pockets, please donate generously.

A little bit about O2e for those not familiar:

O2e is completely run by volunteers and has zero overheads. Every penny donated goes to our chosen charities which we select at our January launch night, which will be virtual this year. Objectives: firstly, to support needy, serious and terminally ill children, O2e really does make a huge difference to so many children's lives and secondly, to make a difference to our own lives by supporting and encouraging sport and adventure with all the benefits they bring.

Please visit www.o2e.org for more details.

Many thanks for your kind donation.