In June this year, I’ll be doing ‘Chase the Sun South’, which involves cycling 160km from the East to West coast of England between sunrise and sunset in one day.

I will be cycling with several members of my amazing Zwift racing team, The Herd of Penguins, with our event squad proudly going by the name of “Hot Flaps”….clearly the name speaks for itself and needs no further explanation, so I’ll leave it there 🤔😉

This challenge means a lot more to me than just kilometres on a bike. As many of you know, I live with Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) - an autoimmune condition that causes my immune system to mistakenly attack my own body, leading to inflammation in joints, tendons, and connective tissue.

A lot of people hear “arthritis” and think “wear-and-tear” or “getting older”… but this is very different. There have been days where walking and cycling has hurt a lot. Days where training felt impossible and I was way outside my comfort zone. Days where fatigue, pain, stiffness, or flares would have been a very easy excuse to give up. But here we are, and frankly I couldn’t be prouder.

So, why have I agreed to ride 160km in one day?! Because our amazing team captain decided this was her 60th birthday wish… and honestly, who says no to that? 🤦🏽‍♀️😂

I’m also riding to raise money for the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Alliance (PAPAA) – a fantastic charity supporting people living with psoriatic disease and helping raise awareness of a horrible condition that affects far more people than most realise.

My target is to raise at least £500, and every donation - big or small - genuinely means a lot.

So, if you’d like to support a bunch of determined penguins, a slightly ridiculous team name, and one woman proving that autoimmune disease doesn’t get the final say…

I’d be hugely grateful.

Nat 🐧☀️