Care of Police Survivors (COPS) provides peer support opportunities and access to counselling services to help surviving family members rebuild their shattered lives. Since its foundation in 2003, COPS has helped hundreds of police families devastated by the loss of a loved one who died on duty.

In support of this charity I'll be part of a group riding 255 miles over 4 days, with an awful lot of hills thrown in!

Day 1 - 80 miles Colwyn bay to Aberystwyth

Day 2 - 80 miles Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury

Day 3 - 80 miles Shrewsbury to Drayton Manor

Day 4 - 15 miles to the National Memorial Arboretum

This year the final day will be very different. I'll be riding the last leg on a 1950s police bike that has some personal history.

Early in 1995 I discovered two old bikes going in a skip at Menai Bridge Police Station. Having obtained permission keep them I managed to make one good working bike out of the two, with which I then used on duty at my outstation posting at Rhosneigr, where it proved to be very popular. I soon attracted the attention of the Daily Post newspaper who took photos and ran a story.

30 years later, and with the old bike having been left to rot at the back of a barn I have spent several months and a wad of cash re-renovating the old beast and have managed to get it back on the road.

Divisional Commander of Local Policing Chief Superintendent Owain Llewellyn joined me recently to visit Rhosneigr and recreate the photo taken all those years ago. Having retired from police service the Chief Constable kindly gave me permission to don my old uniform on for the photos, but also to use the bike and uniform for the final leg of the ride to the memorial service.

It'll be a tough 15 miles, with only the upper two of of the bike's 3 gears working, and the thing weighs a ton compared to modern bikes, with its heavy British steel frame, rod brakes and a leather sprung saddle; but it should prove wonderful to once again experience being back in that saddle for one last cycle 'patrol'.