As many of you will know, we are entering the 2010 Race Across America - 3010 miles from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland.

Months of preparation and thousands of hard miles of training come to a head on 12 June, when we start on what should be an amazing non-stop week or so (depending on how quickly the team can ride) of hard riding, sleep deprivation, wind, sun, heat, uphill, downhill, washing, cooking, cleaning, laundry, driving, navigating, communicating, etc (you get the drift).

It's only thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, Survitec Group, EPIC Performance Improvement and the RAF Sports Lottery that we are going. Without their support, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would not be happening.

As well as our own personal and team challenge we are raising awareness and funds for Help for Heroes (www.helpforheroes.org.uk) , a charity which supports wounded UK soldiers.

"It’s about the blokes, our men and women of the Armed Forces. It’s about Derek, a rugby player who has lost both his legs, it’s about Carl whose jaw is wired up so he has been drinking through a straw. It’s about Richard who was handed a mobile phone as he lay on the stretcher so he could say goodbye to his wife. It’s about Ben, it’s about Steven and Andy and Mark, it’s about them all. They are just blokes but they are our blokes; they are our heroes. We want to help our heroes."

We will also be competing for the RAAM Military Cup alongside a US military team who are raising money for the USA equivalent of Help for Heroes, called the Wounded Warrior Project.

Any amount of money you can afford to give would be very greatly appreciated and we thank you kindly.

During the race, we will be blogging and posting daily photos and videos. You can follow our progess at www.raf-ultra.co.uk