Update: Although we are moving the date to September 2021 remember that donations made through JustGiving are sent to  charity partners on a weekly basis, so any money you’ve donated so far is already making a difference to Shuktara Trust UK, helping them continue their vital work.

About 14 years ago I decided to take on a cycling challenge to Cycle the Nile in Egypt. I was 48, overweight and under exercised. At the time I was presenting a British TV show called This Morning and although I wanted to do the ride just for me, under my married name, the programme had other ideas, and set me off with a camera crew to record every hill, drop of sweat, gasp of breath and puncture. I was riding with strangers, a group of real women who had real jobs. They were midwives, doctors, lawyers, teachers plus women who had parked their career for their families, but were ready to take on this daring challenge.

You can imagine how out of place I felt. A woman with a camera crew is not discreet. I was a very conspicuous oddity. Later, these lovely women told me they thought I might not do all the ride. That I would insist on First Class travel, make up and cheat the miles by only doing the first two miles and the last two but riding in the air conditioned coach for the other fifty miles they would be riding. But together we did it the whole 400 km in 5 days. Cycling in searing heat through mighty deserts, past ancient temples, and the valley of the kings, always following the sparkling River Nile.

14 years later and we have many rides under our belts. Cuba, India, Tanzania, Russia, Estonia, Jordan, Zanzibar, Panama, China, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Vietnam and Costa Rica. We have raised many hundreds of thousands for our chosen charities.

As we have got older, we are now down to a hardcore group of about twenty women, 13 of whom have agreed to cycle the 1100 miles, from Lands End in Cornwall, UK, to John O’Groats in Scotland. This is the longest cycle route in the UK. Five years ago we did it from Scotland to Cornwall, but felt we had to complete it by doing it the other way round. Our age range is twenties to sixties ( I’m 62).

Shuktara is a charity that I happened on by accident. David Earp [founder of shuktara] and I have been in email contact for a few years but we finally met last year and I saw in him such gentleness and goodness that I knew I had to do something to help raise some cash and let more people know about the work he is doing. So please, if you can spare a little to help, I would be most grateful.

With love
Fern x
#CycleBrittonForShuktara

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