Hi guys,

First of all, to all Joe's friends and family, I hope nobody is offended that I'm arranging to do this on a different date to the cycle scheduled for the 4th April: all the people involved have and are putting a great deal of effort into it's organisation. Unfortunately I couldn't make the 4th April as my two main exams are the following week and I can't afford to take the day off. Despite that, I still wanted to raise money in memory of Joe and would rather do the bike ride by myself than not at all. If anybody else is unable to make the cycling on the 4th April but still wants to do it, you're more than welcome to join me.

To those, who don't know Joe, he tragically died last year and will be sorely missed by all those who knew him. I've met few people who were so universally liked, I never heard anybody say anything but appreciation towards him. I didn't know him as long as some of the other people cycling in his memory but I was lucky to have known him for the time that I did. Seeing Joe was always the highlight of visiting Oxford, and when he visited us for a weekend in London, we would always be taking about it for weeks to follow. 

Joe was born in Brighton but spent most of his life growing up in Oxford, both cities were very important to him, so the bike ride is intended to commemorate that.

The charity I'm raising money for is 'Nordoff Robbins': a specialist music therapy charity dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable adults and children across the UK. Music was a massive part of Joe's life and I know he would have been impressed by the work of Nordoff Robbins, it's a great charity to be supporting. 

Any contributions whatsoever will be greatly appreciated.