Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

It's been a year now since my friend and colleague, Steve Caddell, took his own life and it's in his memory that I decided to get involved in cycling from John O'Groats to Lands End. Myself, Mark and Ed will be riding it completely unsupported (carrying everything we need with us) and self-funded, so any amount you can give will all go to charity.

As for the ride itself, daunting's not the word... This time last year a 50-mile ride to and from Aldeburgh was the height of my ambitions. It's fair to say I've never done anything anywhere near this physically demanding before.

Training started well until I had my first "off". The result was a cracked bone in my little finger. That was recovering well until I inexplicably tried to adjust a mudguard whilst cycling. Lesson learnt: never put your fingers in moving spokes! Especially if it's the same one you just broke... In April I got pneumonia and was off work (and the bike) for 4 weeks. Two weeks ago I came off again and cracked a couple of ribs.

This fitness malarky isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Undeterred, 2 days ago (12 July) I completed my first "century" (112 to be exact. I got lost.) This was on a fully loaded bike and I followed it up yesterday with 103. Today I hurt.

Back to why I'm doing this, please give what you can. Every penny makes a difference. 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.

So please dig deep and donate now.