My next journey.........

In 4 days, 15 hours, 6 minutes and approx 34 seconds I will be setting off from Lands End on a push bike. 14 days later I will (hopefully) reach John O'Groats, most northernly point of the British mainland, having cycled over 1060 miles.

Am I a keen cyclist ? Am I even a cyclist at all ? - answer to both questions here is NO. In fact, other than the odd outing for other charity rides (max of 60 miles!) - the last time I enjoyed riding a bike was when I was 9 years old !!

Last year I walked the Welsh Coastal Path to raise much needed awareness and monies for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA). You all know the reasons why I chose to undertake that challenge and almost a year to the week I finished that walk, I'm about to embark on the next chapter in my mission to raise awareness.

Last summer, I was able (with the help of many people and with some great support) to reach out to a lot of people and in the process managed to raise a fantastic amount of money for the charity.
Before you continue reading - if you do not know alot about MND and the effect it has on sufferers and their families - then please visit http://www.mndassociation.org/what-is-mnd

So, the objective is clear and simple - to raise as much awareness as possible. The means of reaching that goal however is not as easy - I despise cycling ! I've never had the urge to don lycra and sit on an uncomfortable saddle for 8 hours a day whilst wearing something that clearly resembles a nappy.

Have I trained adequately ?? What do you think !! I've only been riding the new bike I bought properly since April, a few training rides with the group and a few hikes up the Bwlch. Training is for athletes - I am not an athlete :) It wouldn't be a challenge if I trained would it !

This time I've invited people to join me for the entire challenge - if I can get lost whilst walking up a signposted (most of the time!) coastal path, then putting me on two wheels on major A roads in the middle of the Lake District would be utter carnage. 

Luckily I have managed to coax 10 other crazy people into accompanying me on my travels across Britain. To meet them please visit http://cycle4mnd.com/ and click on 'The Team'. But as the journey unravels I'll introduce you to them all in more detail.

So 10 riders, 2 support vehicle drivers, 14 days, 1060+ miles and plenty of sweat, blood & tears I'm sure. Its going to be eventful, it going to be extremley challenging for me but I'm banking on 3 things to get me to the finish line :-
1. Determination - whatever the obstacle, I'll get around it (may take a while, but I will get around it!).
2. Support - so many generous people have already donated money, time, effort and assistance with CycleMND - this will drive the whole team on. We need as many people as possible to support this cause and help us to continue to spread the awareness.

And finally 3. One of my most valuable assets for the challenge - my backside cream !!

So, I'll try and update you on our progress each day and allow you to follow our ups and downs.
Hopefully we won't be cycling too many 'ups'.
I'll try not to swear during this blog - but there is one swear word already banned from being discussed and that is the word "HILL" ! I'll be referring to it as H***.
I said at the beginning I don't do cycling - well, I certainly do not do cycling uphill !!

So strap yourselves in :) its gonna be one hell of a rollercoaster. For you - your jobs start as soon as you've finished reading this - tell someone about the challenge - tell someone about MND & the MNDA - a breakthrough must be found for MND.

Thanks for your continued support all................

As a team we've already managed to raise over £6000 and thats without pedalling ! www.justgiving.com/cycle4mnd