I should be clear, I've been wanting to take on a longish multi day cycle ride for a while now but when I had the privilege of meeting trustees from Papyrus and hearing their story it became clear to me that I had an opportunity to raise some funds and hopefully a lot of awareness into the work that Papyrus do and why.  Working at a further education college I work as part of a small team who support students many of whom are clearly affected with significant mental health challenges. 

Finding out that suicide is the leading cause of death in the under 35 population was rightly shocking and reminded me and others that we have a responsibility to encourage, mentor and support young people who are a lot more vulnerable and fragile than they sometimes appear, sometimes because of their drive to achieve.  Others we learn have been through trauma and tragedy that would be massively challenging for anyone to overcome.  Helping to raise some funds and awareness for Papyrus so that they can train volunteers and help to equip young people with skills and knowledge to build their resilience is something that I will be proud to be part of. 

Depending on the route I end up taking I will cycle the best part of 1,000 miles in about 10 days leaving on Wednesday 26th July and catching the ferry over to Orkney on Saturday 5th August.  I'll hopefully visit the Papyrus office in Warrington and meet the team.  I do hope not to become so obsessed that I end up cycling laps of an Orkney car park watching my cycle computer screen tick over to four figures.   I'm supposed to be enjoying the trip so I'll be steering clear of dual carriageways and taking B roads, towpaths, old military roads and and off road routes wherever possible.  There will be hills!   I'll get to see and stay in some amazing places, Symonds Yat, Ironbridge, the Lake District, a Tibetan Monastery (in a Scottish forest), , the Scottish Highlands, a pub owned by the church and Orkney itself.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.  I'll publish updates and photos en route as charging points allow. If you see someone heading north in a purple Papyrus vest it might be me,  I will gladly stop and chat, especially if decent coffee is involved!

Donating through .ing 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.