So, here I am one year later than originally planned, determined to cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats in aid of a very special charity, Ryedale Special Families, for whom I've worked (very part time) as Funding Coordinator for the past 12 years.

It's a crazy thing I'd originally planned to do last year, to celebrate my 70th birthday, but catching covid in February, followed by long covid and chronic fatigue for the next 6 months, put paid to that idea!

Following a 12 week recovery programme with Nuffield I've since spent the last 6 months gradually building up my stamina and increasing my cycling distances, to enable me to have my best shot at completing 1,189 miles over 32 days.

I've deliberately chosen the longer Sustrans National Cycle Network route which uses traffic-free paths and quiet roads, averaging 40 miles a day and with 5 rest days built in. Not for me a 7 day blast straight up the A74! As much as is possible I want to savour the experience and enjoy the places I visit. 

Of course the cycling will be tough and almost 5 weeks on my own will also be a personal challenge for me, having never been on my own for that length of time in my life! And leaving my business in the safe hands of others will also be a challenge - I can't recall the last time I had 2 weeks away from work (apart from covid) never mind nearly 5! Control freak that I am I'm sure I'll be checking my emails every evening.

My aim is to raise £10,000, a tall order I know but I've always believed in aiming high. So please dig deep if you can and help ease my pain! And rest assured, every penny donated goes straight to Ryedale Special Families.

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.

You can follow my progress here as well as on my Facebook page, so please check back from time to time.

Many thanks for your support.