Having been forced to retire from the other sports I used to enjoy, I have now donned the Lycra, spent far too much money on a new bike and now cycle as often as I can. Having successfully done a few local long distance events, I am training hard for this next challenge. On the first day I will pedal from London down to Dover, hop on the ferry to Calais then continue for another 3 days through the French countryside until I reach the finish point under the Eiffel Tower. Each leg of the ride will be around 75 miles, meaning 6-7 hours in the saddle every day; thankfully I have a good pair of padded shorts!

Earlier this year we re-homed a dog from Dogs Trust; Maisie came to the Canterbury centre from Ireland and as soon my wife and daughters went to see her they knew she was ‘the one’. She was described by the staff as ‘a live wire’ and certainly lives up to that reputation, but she charms everyone she meets and has proved to be an excellent companion to our other dog Dougal, a black Labrador, and very quickly established herself as part of the family. I was very impressed with the way the Canterbury centre was run, the staff who we dealt with and also how the whole ‘adoption’ process was organised so am delighted to have the opportunity to help them out in this way. I am paying for the trip out of my own pocket so every pound raised will go direct to Dogs Trust Canterbury. 

I will be posting regular updates on the Wigmore Veterinary Centre Facebook page so you can follow firstly how the training is going, then more importantly keep up-to-date with my progress on the ride itself from 13th to 16th September.

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.

Thank you very much for your support.