On the 6th June 2022, the anniversary of D-Day, I will set off to cycle 22,442 miles with the aim of raising £1 per mile in honour of the 22,442 service men and women under British command that fell during the Normandy Landings in the summer of 1944.

The funds raised will go towards the construction of the Winston Churchill Education and Learning Centre, plus the ongoing maintenance of the British Normandy Memorial which preserves the memory of those that laid down their lives, including that of my grandfather, Private George Hanks.

Many people raise money by running a marathon or 10k. I was fortunate enough to run at a high level winning many of these races around Europe before serious injury cut short my athletic career. After enduring 11 operations I had to learn to walk again, and to ride a modified bike. Following more than a decade of rehabilitation I'm now undertaking one last epic adventure to bring closure to my sporting life.

I'm older, heavier (it's muscle, honest!), have one eye and a body full of metalwork.....but I can still ride a bike.

This isn't going to be a challenge that's over in few days or weeks, it's going to take me a long time. I have a family and job to come first, but what I do here is commit to chipping away at the miles day-by-day using the same patience and resolve that enabled me to recover from serious injury.

https://www.britishnormandymemorial.org/

Rides are recorded on Strava https://www.strava.com/athletes/102545410

"We're all stories in the end, let's make it a good one."