I am attempting a 200-mile cycle ride from Torquay to
Wokingham on the 29^{th of} August this year. This distance is to be
cycled in 1 day. I am tackling this incredible challenge in support of Dingley’s Promise, a charity with centres in Berkshire. 

The charity supports children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The incredible work they do has recently been negatively affected by a loss in sponsorship, meaning
my ride is all the more crucial for the continued efforts of everyone at
Dingley’s Promise and the wonderful children whose lives they enrich.

Dingley’s Promise are committed to enhancing the lives and learning of the children they work with but are also determined to improve the lives of their families and the wider community. They offer family support programmes and nationwide training courses. The early years of any child’s life are formative to say the least, and Dingley’s Promise are working to ensure every child has access to an environment that is conducive to learning, while being perfectly tailored to their needs.

I hope what makes this ride inspiring is that I have had my
very own personal challenge to face; in January 2020 I suffered several broken bones in my left arm and wrist after being knocked off my bike at a speed of around 25mph. I was told I would never cycle again. There was even talk of losing my hand at one point. When I set myself this challenge, I knew I wanted to achieve something extraordinary. This is when I conceptualised the 200 for £2000 and
decided to push my body and mind to the very limit.

If cycling 200 miles in under 13.5 hours wasn’t enough of a challenge
for me; there is also 13,000 feet of elevation along the ride- this is the
equivalent of cycling from Fleet to Leeds and cycle climbing Ben Nevis 3 times along the way! By the way, I have never cycled anything close to this distance before, just over half this distance is my best effort. That said, I knew if I was going to take something like this on, then it needed to be a challenge in every sense. Knowing I have completed this challenge will be incredible but knowing the ride has contributed to more children having access to Dingley’s promise will more than make every single pedal turn worthwhile. Just the training rides alone will be something like 200 hours in the saddle between now and the event. I will cycle the event alone, making the challenge that much
harder.

Please, please, please dig deep and make all of this effort
worth every penny.