Dear Friends,

In early October we will be heading to Tuscany with DeutscheBike for four days of cycling in support of Autistica and Hope and Homes for Children, the two DB charities of the year.

Autistica is a charity which funds and campaigns for medical research to understand the causes of autism, improve diagnosis and develop new treatments and interventions. Hope and Homes for Children work alongside governments and civil society organisations in over 30 countries to dismantle orphanage-based care systems and replace them with high quality family-based care. You can find out more about both of these fantastic charities and read about how they are making a difference to people's lives via the links on this page.

For us the challenge is four days of pain while cycling almost 250 miles through the Italian countryside with only each other (and DB colleagues) for company!  We start the journey in Pisa and travel through hill top towns and rolling fields on route to Siena and then on to Florence before circling back to Pisa.  That we get to take in breath-taking views and sample Italian cuisine is little consolation compared to the agony and exhaustion we will be suffering from steep climbs, dangerous descents and the ever present sight of Jami in lycra.  And if all that was not enough we will also be sharing a room. Each night.

We would really appreciate your support and anything you can offer to help us reach our fundraising target would be gratefully received.  DB are kindly offering matched giving, so anything you can donate will effectively be doubled which will really help the charities we are riding for.

Assuming we both survive, we look forward to regaling you with tales of laughter, fear and suffering (and that is just from sharing the room). 

Thanks so much for your support,

Jami and Chris