Hi everyone!

On 22 June 2014, 1,000+ other cyclists and I will be riding 168km through Austria, Switzerland and Italy as part of the Dreiländergiro, an event I completed for the first time in 2005.

I won't lie: I'm doing this for selfish enjoyment and for my love of cycling and of the countryside, but while I'm at it I may as well raise money for a cause which is close to my heart, both personally and professionally, and which I know is also important to many colleagues and friends.

As you may know, women's shelters, rape crisis centers, and other services for women and girls who are survivors of domestic violence have been rapidly disappearing, thanks to the government's misguided austerity politics and cuts that hit the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our society.

Within this context, High Peak Women's Aid, who are based in Glossop (Derbyshire), provide invaluable services to local survivors, including a refuge, counselling, and children's aftercare. However, as so many small, local charities, they are very short of funds for the vital services they provide, and this directly impacts on the lives of women and girls in the area.

The ride I'm doing takes in a beautiful route that climbs 3,300m overall and covers the Stelvio Pass (27km long, with a peak of 2797m) and the Fuorn Pass (14km long, with a peak of 2149m). See here for the route profile and more details: http://www.dreilaendergiro.at/en/route.html.

Despite several lengthy and greedy food stops, I came first in my age category with a time of 8 hours 44 minutes, and 39th woman overall, in 2005.

Nine years later, at the tender age of thirty, my aim is to ride the same route in under 8 hours, which should be easily done if only I can resist stopping for the free food along the way - a tough challenge if ever there was one, as those who know me will no doubt remark!

So, if you think that riding a bike up and down those mountains sounds either like good fun or like torture, and if you think that women and girls deserve to be able to live in a world that actively fights domestic violence instead of normalising it, and if you want to support survivors of abuse, then please consider donating however much you can afford, and in return I'll train hard (including regular 50mile commutes to Liverpool), and eat well, so that I can drag myself up those climbs as swiftly as I possibly can next June.

Thank you, and please spread the word! :)

Nadine