I'll admit it, this is a bit of a hijack as The Longest Day is a fundraising event organised by the Alzheimer's Association across the pond in the good old US of A. But Alzheimer's disease doesn't respect borders does it? 

Right then, neither shall I. So, on Thursday June 21st I'll be taking on my own Longest Day in aid of Alzheimer's Society, a charity I've fundraised for in the past and one that does incredible work in the fight against the disease.

I'll be taking on this challenge in honour of my Nana, Betty Chantry, who has suffered with and fought this disease for more than 15 years now. She's an amazing lady and remains so, despite Alzheimer's taking so much from her, but it's been tough on the whole family to see much of who she was eroded away. 

Today, over 35 million people across the world are living with Alzheimer's, including more than 850,000 in the UK with numbers set to rise to over 1 million by 2025. This will soar to 2 million by 2051. 225,000 people in the UK will develop dementia this year, that's one every three minutes. We must take action now, or these numbers will continue to rise.

To do my bit in raising awareness of the disease and the threat it poses (and hopefully raise a little money along the way) I'll be getting involved in The Longest Day by, wait for it... cycling to work and back!

OK it doesn't sound that impressive, and maybe not worth donating a little bit of your hard earned for, BUT there's a twist. I live near Melton Mowbray and I work (at least some of the time) for DCS Solutions in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. So my trip is going to be 85 miles each way and I'll even try to fit a bit of work in between the pedalling!

This really will be The Longest Day for me as I'll be using the light to cycle further (and probably for longer) than I've ever done in a single day before PLUS I'll have to at least attempt a semblance of a working day, which some of my colleagues will testify I can struggle with at the best of times. In short, it could get a little tough along the way.

So, please do get involved as I face my Longest Day on the 21st June, your support really will help spur me on. Together, we can show those facing Alzheimer's disease that they are not alone. Please make a donation today to support the work of Alzheimer's Society. Thank you!