In an era of increasing shortfalls in government funding, a group of parents at Holly’s school are cycling 170km from Bath to Sheen (south west London) in one day - to raise money to fund materials requested by the staff, that are no longer covered by central budgets, and hopefully also enable improvements to the school’s outdoor areas - encouraging kids sports and well-being.

In parallel the group have also chosen to support the Holly Lodge Centre. Holly Lodge is a unique and exceptional education Centre in the heart of Richmond Park - bringing learning about Science, Nature and History to life for children and adults with special educational needs and disabilities.

For someone who had never biked more than 15km in one go, finishing the 170km already felt like an impossible task back in December. Not content with this, I thought I would add to the challenge, two weeks after signing up, by getting knocked off my bike (by a Lime Biker walking her dog) and dislocating my shoulder in the process, before then undergoing reconstructive shoulder surgery 14 weeks before the event…

Fast forward to now, and rather behind on the training regime, with a bunch of aches and pains, I thought I would make my crazy decision to sign up in the first place public, to prevent me backing out…

The route will take us 170km (just over 100 Miles) on Sunday 29th June from Bath to Sheen in South West London. We will ascend from Bath until we hit the Thames Valley in a day of 1400m of ascent.

We will then finish back at the school to (hopefully!) celebrate with the charities, our families and friends/fans/sponsors!

I’ve been told that this is a significant challenge for new riders… representing the cycling equivalent of running a Marathon. Either way, it’s pushing me to my limits so far!

So any encouragement, donations or general support is very gratefully received - all of it will help me keep going, as well as supporting two great causes that will make a material difference to the futures of hundreds of kids.

Thank you so much for your support.