Hi… here is my story... the reason I am going to be cycling the 5 nations, unsupported, please take a moment to read my story...

I’ve been volunteering for the YMCA in Milton Keynes for a couple of years now. I work with them under their Hospital Navigation Scheme, which has extended into a local school. For the past few months I have been monitoring young people who attend the school.

I am a massive advocate of the work the YMCA do in Milton Keynes, there are two main reasons for this...

I grew up in Bletchley. I had a difficult relationship with my parents for many reasons. I had decided that I would leave home as soon as I was able. As a 17 year old I didn’t have many options open to me, I was too young for council accommodation and couldn’t afford private accommodation, I wasn’t in a position of desperate need. The only option open to me was the YMCA. I moved into my flat a very naive 17 year old… and was left there, no support, no structure, no help. In fact I paid my rent and that was the only contact I had with the YMCA. I learnt a lot very quickly, not in a positive way.

Fast forward 43 years…

The YMCA is still standing on the same site… but a very different YMCA to the one I lived in as that naive 17 year old. Not only has the building been rebuilt, the residents are supported, they have a structure to follow and live within, they have help… and it is amazingly impressive.

But that is not the only reason I support the YMCA, the thing that makes the difference is the staff, the people behind the support and the structure. The people that work so hard to give the residents a voice, confidence, and show that they matter, they are important and teach them that they can contribute to our society.

Like the residents, the staff need support not only with the hours of times volunteers can provide, but they need financial support to give the residents the opportunities a lot of us take for granted. That is why I am under taking a crazy bike riding challenge!

At the age of 61 (nearly 62) I will be cycling, solo and unsupported the 5 nations… England, Wales, Ireland (North and South), and Scotland. My total mileage will be about 2,000 miles in under 1 month.