Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

This is the first time I have ever tried to raise money for any sporting endeavour, and I promise I won’t call on you again in the near future.

Why now? 

Four years ago I met Tim Sutton, through our mutual friend Matt. Together they introduced me to the pleasure and purgatory of cycling up hills; Tim would wait patiently while I pitted mind over too much matter to make my way to the top of Sundridge Hill and other ‘monuments’ of the Kentish North Downs.  And then they introduced me to Les Veloiste Gentils, and the joy of riding bicycles in the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Dolomites. As many of you know it has since become a bit of an obsession. I never looked back (but I never caught Tim either).

My first Alpine trip was in 2011. Tim couldn’t make it, and sadly it was later that year that he fell ill. We never got to ride those mountains together.

Tim's life was cut tragically short in January this year when he finally lost his battle with an extremely rare form of bowel cancer.

In honour of his memory and that of fellow Veloiste Edward 'Nuts' Rikard-Bell, who also  passed away from cancer last year, Les Veloistes Gentils have decided to don the lycra and raise some money in their names by attempting to join the Le Club des Cingles du Ventoux.

Le Club is an exclusive band of people who have cycled up the Giant of Provence three times in one day. I haven’t even done it once, but everyone who has tells me it is unlike any other mountain climb. Standing at 2,000 metres, the last few km are like cycling across the moon, and there is no shelter from either the blistering sun or the howling wind (if you're really unlucky, you’ll have both at the same time).

It's certainly going to be a challenge. Fortunately I'll have some fellow Veloistes around me to keep me going...

So, the date is set for 12th July...which is where you come in please...

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Jon