In September 2019 I’ll be cycling from my home in Ashburton,
Devon, nearly 700 miles to climb the mountain Ben Alder in the Cairngorm to raise money for St. Luke’s Hospice in Plymouth.  Here’s why:

As many of you know, in May 2017 my Brother Matthew tragically passed away, leaving behind a young family.  Only six months previously, out of the blue, he had been diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer that had spread significantly across his body. What followed was a period of immense difficulty and sadness for all of us as we helplessly watched him fight so bravely and come to terms with the situation.

His final couple of weeks were spent in St.Luke’s Hospice,  Plymouth.  The care they provided was extraordinary, making his time as comfortable, dignified and peaceful as possible. As well as that they looked after us with patience and warmth.   My son Sam, 3 at the time, referred to it as “the café with beds”!

As Matt and I were 11 years apart, we didn’t really spend a huge amount of time together, our lives often on different tracks, and this is something that will always sadden me.  We shared many common passions such as sailing, cycling and being in the hills and I’ll forever be left wondering what lovely times we would have had.  Matt had lived in Scotland for a good ten years or so and one of his favourite Munros was Ben Alder in the southern Cairngorm, where he once enjoyed a memorable weekend of cycling, camping and walking with some of his good friends.

I decided last year that as a form a dedication, a pilgrimage perhaps, I that I’d like to visit Ben Alder and climb it to share one of his experiences.  To make it a proper challenge, something that’s going to be probably quite unpleasant and require some significant training and to raise some funds for the amazing St. Luke’s Hospice, I’ve decided to cycle there from home in Devon. Whilst I love cycling, my rides are typically in the range of 20-30 miles, and certainly not 80-100
miles a day for a week!

If you’ve read this far, thank you!  Please do consider donating,  I know these days there are countless charity things going on, but this is the first time I’ve done this kind of thing and I promise I won’t pester you again!  St. Luke’s need to raise more than £4.2 million a year to keep running, and whatever contribution we can make is worthwhile.

Finally if anyone wants to join me for any legs of the journey, get in touch, I’ll need all the moral support I can get!

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