On August 18th I'm going to set off with 6,500 other cyclists on the oldest cycling race in the world: the 1,200 km from Rambouillet on the outskirts of Paris, to Brest on the Brittany coast, and back.  

In 2011 I got an old bike for Christmas.  It was heavy, too small for me, and against the odds, I loved it.  I loved it so much that after a year or so I bought a modern bike.  Then I started cycling further afield, and further, and further...  Cycling has changed my life.  I'm fitter, I'm happier, I've met amazing people and made new friends - I'm even writing poetry about it.

If a bike can do that for me, imagine what it could do for someone who has almost nothing.  

Imagine living on £36 a week. That might just be enough for food, if you' were really careful, but what about travel? What if you need a coat, or a pair of shoes, what sacrifices will you have to make? These hard choices are the every-day reality of a refugee in London.

The Bike Project take second-hand bikes, fix them up and donate them to refugees and asylum-seekers. Why? Because one of their bikes can save a refugee £21 a week in bus fares. Having fled persecution and atrocity in their homeland, a bike helps them access food banks, legal advice, healthcare, education and more.

I'm asking you to help me create some happiness for others out of the happiness that pedalling 1,200 km in 90 hours will give me.  

£20 is enough for a cycling safety kit, including a helmet and a lock.

£50 means The Bike Project can donate a kid's bike to a young refugee, plus the safety gear they need.

£100 will cover the cost of providing a free bike to a refugee, with the safety kit and a lesson to help them cycle safely.

I've started it off with £50.  Please give what you can. 

Thanks!

• The Bike Project: https://thebikeproject.co.uk/
• Rusty Lines: https://www.rustylines.co.uk/
• PBP 2019: http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/index2.php?lang=en&cat=accueil&page=edito