Whilst some people bake cakes for charity, I figured I would save the fire brigade a trip and will instead be shortly squeezing into my Lycra and taking on the London to Brighton bike ride.

This is a roughly 90km ride with 1,000 metres of elevation gain, with apparently at least one massive hill that people seem to delight in telling me about.

You may be thinking that I chew your ear off about all the cycling I did when living in Germany. Be under no illusion - this will be the most challenging bike ride I will have ever done!

The 1,000m of climbing will be way more than I’ve ever attempted - cycling uphill really is my Achilles heel. In fact I would say that I have perfected the art of planning routes that avoid it.

Life back in the urban jungle over the past 18 months hasn’t left much room for bike rides, and my bike has largely been gathering dust in storage. That makes this challenge not just physical, but a way to reconnect with something I’ve missed.

For me, riding my bike was always a way to relax, where the pressures of life melt away and I can enjoy the peace of the countryside. It is a constant reminder of how privileged my life is. With that in mind, I’m riding in aid of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) aka Doctors Without Borders.

MSF provides medical humanitarian assistance to save lives and ease the suffering of people in crisis situations in some of the world’s harshest conditions. It responds to epidemics, conflicts and disasters at a moment’s notice and is active in over 70 countries. It operates on medical need alone, going wherever the need is greatest.

One such place is Gaza, where the medical needs are immense, the suffering is unbearable, and the humanitarian situation is desperate.

MSF's 900 staff in Gaza are there right now, providing medical assistance such as surgical care, wound and burn care, malnutrition treatment, maternal / paediatric care, vaccinations, mental health support and water and sanitation support.

It's really quite hard to put it into words the cruelty that is being unleashed. MSF not only treats the wounded, but speaks out about what they see, such as recently joining other charities in sounding the alarm on famine.

In no uncertain terms, as MSF puts it, we are "witnessing the deliberate targeting of medics and hospitals; the use of starvation as a weapon of war with a blockade starving people of food, water, fuel and medical supplies; the militarisation of aid, and the massacre of starving people queuing for aid. In short, we are witnessing a genocide. Through deliberate actions—including forced displacement, annexation, and mass killings - Israel is systematically destroying the conditions necessary for Palestinian life.”

Aid alone will not stop a genocide - MSF continue to put pressure on governments and institutions who have the power to ease the situation.

The biggest endorsement I can give to MSF is that I am voluntarily dragging myself uphill to support its work. Any words of encouragement and donations you are able to make would be greatly appreciated, and will truly make a difference for those MSF are assisting in Gaza and around the world.

Thank you for reading!

Munty