Cycling the Western Front Way – £2,000 for Veterans’ Mental Health

In September 2026, we’re cycling a powerful route through the battlefields of the Western Front — starting at Dunkirk, riding through Nieuwpoort, Ypres, Lens, Albert, Péronne, Arras, Armentières and Poperinge, before returning to Dunkirk.

It’s a journey of around 500+ kilometres across ground where thousands served and sacrificed.

This ride is personal.

I served in the Royal Army Dental Corps, and Dave served in the RAF Dental Branch. We first met in the Falklands in 1985 and have been friends ever since. Decades later, we’re still pushing each other — just in slightly different ways.

We’re riding to raise at least £2,000 for Combat Stress, the UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health.

While the battlefields we pass belong to history, the struggles many veterans face today are very real. Trauma, PTSD and mental health challenges don’t disappear when service ends. Combat Stress provides specialist treatment and support to those who are still fighting their own battles long after leaving uniform.

This ride is about:

Remembrance

Friendship forged through service

And supporting veterans who need help now

We’re funding this trip ourselves. Every pound raised goes directly to the charity.

Our target is £2,000 minimum — and we’d love to exceed it.

If you can spare £10, £20 or more, it genuinely makes a difference. And if you can’t donate, sharing the page helps massively.

Thanks for backing us.

Ian & Dave

Combat Stress are the UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health.

For over a century, they’ve helped former servicemen and women deal with trauma-related mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

They’re on a mission to raise awareness that invisible injuries can be just as hard to cope with as physical ones. So when a veteran is having a tough time, they’re there to help them tackle the past and take on the future.