September 2012 seems a very long time ago now but I am once again preparing to cycle home. Nick and I will again start in Nice (Monday 14 April) and finish in London (Sunday 27 April) but we will be following a very different route this time. The fine details are still being worked out but we will be heading through Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Holland to Amsterdam before turning back through Belgium to Calais and up to London. A distance of 2,086km at this stage but it is likely to go up as we get distracted along the way!

Depression is a condition that hasn't seemed very far away from me over the last few years. I have family and friends who have battled with it for a long time without saying anything to anyone about it or really understanding what they were going through. I will raise money through this cycle but that is not my sole aim, I really want to get people talking about feeling depressed. Amongst my friends, their friends and our families I really want to try and break the stigma that surrounds depression. I really feel like it is one of the last taboo subjects and is far too easily ignored and swept under the carpet.

Depression Alliance is doing some fantastic work to raise the profile of depression and bring discussion of it out into the public sphere. Their mission is to get people together and talking about depression, in order to make them happier. It has been proven that having a clear support structure, made up of friends, family or healthcare, can really benefit someone’s recovery and end the loneliness that so often ends lives.

I wholeheartedly support their work and will be so grateful if others choose to donate to them on the back of this ride. Whether you donate or not, please take the time to visit depressionalliance.org and read about Depression and please try and be there for anybody you think is suffering. Remember it is much easier for you to start a conversation on depression, would you not hope someone would do the same for you?

Thanks  xx

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.