This year marks my 5th consecutive year taking on the epic challenge of cycling the entire South Downs Way in a single day – a 100-mile ride, all off-road, with 3,800 metres of elevation gain, stretching from Winchester to Eastbourne, all in memory of our very good friend’s daughter, Ottie.

Starting at 4am, this year me and my friends Rob and Charlie will take on the challenge. It’ll be a gruelling adventure and every year it pushes me to my limits. To put the elevation into perspective, it’s the equivalent of cycling up Ben Nevis nearly three times in a single day.

On the very first attempt of this challenge (raising money for a cancer charity), a year before Ottie lost her battle with cancer, at mile 70 when I thought my body was broken and that I couldn’t go any further, Ottie sent us a video message cheering us on and telling us that we could do it; to this day that video and her encouragement still fuels every pedal on this challenge.

This year, to mark the 5th anniversary, I’m riding not just to remember Ottie, but also to raise vital funds for an incredible charity: Be More Ben.

Be More Ben, a small UK based charity, has been an incredible support to Ottie’s family – and to many others – providing ongoing grief counselling, support, and a compassionate community for parents navigating the unimaginable loss of a child. Any donation you can make will go directly to helping families like Ottie’s find strength and hope after the loss of a child.

So, please support me and Be More Ben if you can, and if you can’t, please share this page so that others might - we've set a target of £2,500 - please help us smash it. Every push up those brutal and seemingly endless hills will be for Ottie, for her family, and for every family that Be More Ben supports.

Thank you so much for your support.