Dear

As you all know I have 3 sporty boys (one being David) and one sporty daughter.

My kitchen cupboards are filled with plastic water bottles, my kitchen work surface and floor is littered with cycle helmets, cycling gloves, heart monitors and lycra; none of this clutter is mine... until now.

If you can’t beat them - join them

I was recently offered the amazing? opportunity to cycle from Lands End to John O’Groats and much to my own dismay; in a bid for family acceptance, I agreed. I will be endeavouring to complete this challenge; with a friend of mine, Mouse Hamilton - Fairley.

Training has well and truly begun and my coach is merciless! He is consistently demanding more miles and I can’t beat the bastard, what I can do though, is capture his bloody plastic bottles. Fortunately my coach can’t attend all of my training sessions, on these blissful days, when I train with my team mate, Mouse we do have nice chats, chatting with my coach isn’t possible, conversation is limiting when your 50 metres behind.

Much to my disappointment the cycling fashion lines are shameful. I am the butt of poor ‘kit’ joke with my Friday tennis girls and although I am now properly ‘kitted out’ the look is one not to be envied. My most recent attempts to jazz it up include wearing my aviator sunglasses, although functional they are not practical for cycling as I found out when my front wheel went over them on the last ride.

As you all know, this year is ever so busy for me,(I might have mentioned I am working at the Beachvolleyball at the Olympics) I have just googled the dates of my employment, fortunately I should have finished this monumental challenge by then!.

To give you an idea of the demands of this endurance event I will be cycling between 50 – 120 miles a day, I think 50 miles is preferable, although this will extend the pain for longer! I am confident that I can do this for one day, but I am told by my coach/husband that it is doing it after 3 or 4 days that it not only becomes a challenge physically but psychologically too. How serious this has become. Its a MENTAL endurance. Now surely you too are worried for me.

Enough jokes this is really in aid of the Bob Champion Cancer Trust. Please go to JustGiving and type in Delia Rowe. They have made enormous progress in particular with testicular cancer and need more money.

Next year I will be doing my preferred option o f sponsoring others to do challenges.

I strongly urge you to give generously to this cause and I do plan to keep you posted once the event is underway through a blog, they will undoubtedly involve pain and hilarity; hopefully I can enjoy the latter without former, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Thank you very much for your kind support.

Lots of Love

Delia x