Job done! 445 miles. Thanks for all your encouragement and sponsorship

Another expensive visit to the bike shop - at least I'll look the part!

Great training ride from Bishops Stortford to Kings Lynn, overnight camp and then the 90 miles back again. The incredible head wind all the way back certainly added to the task! Now I know how much the real thing will hurt!

Confidence boosting 80 mile training ride on Easter Monday, but came with my first crash! Ouch!

On 3 May I commence the biggest physical, and no doubt mental,  challenge of my life!  Cycling from London's Tower Bridge to Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, some 445 miles over 4 days!

Not for the faint hearted and a massive challenge for a 42 year old accountant who's been cycling less than a year and not cycled much more than 60 miles in a day.  Over the four days I'll climb a total of 20,000 feet and endure gradients up to 15%.  No day is less than 100 miles with day two the longest at 122 miles.  I'll be camping overnight between stages so no doubt some lack of sleep will add to the every increasing fatigue.

I've been training hard and am determined to finish.  Whether I can ever sit down again afterwards remains to be seen!

To help me get through such a massive challenge I've decided to try and raise some much needed funds for a local horse sanctuary, Redwings (www.redwings.org.uk) that I first visited a couple of years ago.  In tough economic times the demands placed on them are incredible and raising funds just gets harder and harder. It would be terrific if you could support them by supporting me.

This epic road trip is professionally organised - see www.ratraceroadtrip.com to fully appreciate what I've signed up to - and I've met all costs so every penny donated will be received by Redwings. 

Many thanks for your support.

Paul

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.