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Starting on September 22nd I will be cycling 900 miles (1,450 kms) from London to Barcelona for the Joe Noakes Trust. Thankfully there are another 15 completely bonkers people cycling with me for ten days but I am the only girl!

Cycling has never been a strongpoint for me - I didn't have a bike as a child and in my twenties I went on a 20 mile off road bike ride with friends in the New Forest - didn't have a clue about gears, fell off on numerous occasions and vowed never to get on a bike again. So when my "darling" husband signed me up for this ride as a Christmas present I was more than a little reluctant to accept but then I thought "How difficult can it be - everybody is cycling these days".

Well I can safely say that so far this has been the hardest thing I have ever done - give me hockey drills, bleep tests, half marathons - the training alone has been seriously tough and we haven't even started the ride. I can now clip in and out of the pedals without falling off, indicate right (not left!), drink and eat on the bike and get up hills without walking. I've managed 90 mile rides but not on consecutive days and that is where both physically and mentally this is a seriously mad undertaking, especially with the last three days being over the Pyrenees.

However, The Joe Noakes Trust is a charity very close to my heart. Joe was a wonderful little boy who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Joe was severely autistic with a poor prognosis for his future development. His parents, Nick and Nina, researched potential therapies for Joe and settled on a specialist early intervention therapy called Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). I used to see Joe two to three times per year and the transformation in him was quite amazing. From being told he would never walk or talk he became a giggly, cheeky and confident little boy. After Joe's passing Nick and Nina set up the Joe Noakes Trust with the aim of raising funds to help other families access the programme which did so much for Joe. This is what has kept me going.

Your donations (large or small) will be greatly received by the charity and will also provide me with tremendous motivation during the 10 days that lie between London and Barcelona.

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.