Between 19th April and 28th April 2018, two of my good friends and I are packing up our road bikes and kit (most of which will have just had the plastic wrapping removed!) and are setting off to Switzerland to commence an 8 day, near 1000km, ride which will take us through 5 different countries and will stop at some of the most idyllic destinations Europe has to offer. 

Our route starts in Geneva and we’ll make our way through Montreux, Interlaken and on to Lucerne. We then go across Liechtenstein, across the tip of Austria, into Germany around Lake Konstanz and then head back in to Switzerland to Basel. We then cycle into France through the Champagne region and finish at Reims before driving back via Calais.

We have a car that will be used as a makeshift support vehicle and there will be a mixture of cycling/driving for each of us each day but it is still going to be pretty gruelling – especially considering we haven’t got much experience riding road bikes or cycling up mountains!

We’re not doing the trip to break any records and it was just born out of an idea of us wanting to do something extraordinary but also challenging for our 30th birthdays. However, the reality of the challenge is starting to set in and I realise how tough 8 days back-to-back riding is going to be and it is too good an opportunity to miss to not try to raise money for such a worthy cause.

I am hoping to raise money for the Baby Bereavement Fund at Milton Keynes Hospital Charity. I have been lucky enough to have two healthy children and cannot sing the praises of the staff at Milton Keynes Hospital maternity unit highly enough from our personal experiences. However, my sister-in-law and her partner suffered the devastation of losing their daughter at the very final stages of the pregnancy last year and I still cannot begin to comprehend their feeling of loss. The whole process is surreal and the grief process is such a long road – one that I imagine never really ends. The doctors and nurses were exceptional in giving my sister-in-law and her partner and the extended family support, time and privacy during an utterly terrible time.

Thanks to the generosity of others in fundraising for Milton Keynes Hospital Charity, a Baby Bereavement Suite called “The Butterfly Suite” has been created which allows families to be cared for in a private, quiet room giving parents space and privacy. The Charity is also able to provide amazing services such as providing free keepsakes (handprints, blankets etc.) to offer some consolation to parents.

Although the Suite has been completed, further fundraising will mean that The Butterfly Suite can be maintained and the Charity can continue to offer the wonderful services it does for free. According to statistics, in the UK, an average of nine babies a day are stillborn and anything that can be done to help those affected by this is, in my opinion, a worthy cause.

The route we are travelling is approximately 880kms and I would love to be able to raise £880 to allow the vital support offered by the Charity to continue and to help parents and families going through some of the worst times in their lives.

More details will be posted closer to the time and you will be able to track our progress on Facebook, JustGiving etc.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and for any donation you are able to contribute.