I've always enjoyed the freedom of cycling. The wind in the face, gorgeous landscapes you can see, hear and smell, the option to go anywhere under your own steam. More recently I've got into ultra-endurance cycling, adding the challenge of large distances to the mix. Every four years is the flagship UK ultra-endurance event - the daunting London-Edinburgh-London. 950 miles that must be completed in five days or fewer. I'm not getting any younger, so this is the year to take on this huge challenge, the toughest ride of my life by far!

I'm hugely grateful for your support. This year I'm raising money for The Leprosy Mission - the first charity I worked for, and which taught me what truly serving some of the world's most vulnerable people looks like. I'm supporting their Revive campaign in Odisha, India, which is helping people like Anjali.

The Leprosy Mission is an international Christian development organisation that diagnoses, treats and offers holistic care to people affected by leprosy. Their aim is to transform lives and fight the effects of leprosy - from preventable disability to poverty and discrimination. Your gift really can make a difference:

£24 cures a person of leprosy

£72 buys 2 goats

£160 provides vegetable plants and fruit trees for a community farm

£800 provides a borewell for a source of clean water for an entire community

£2500 (with a match fund of £1500 from the Indian government) builds a safe, family home with a flushable toilet