I have finally got around to signing myself up for some painful exercise and any sponsorship money you can spare would really boost my motivation. I have always said to myself that I would one day run a marathon but the fact that I absolutely detest running, unless it is after a ball, has really stood in my way. Some of you may have noticed that I am now one of those cycling bores who is always going on about how good cycling is, technical equipment, coffee or cycling trips. So, instead of running a marathon, I have decided to enter the RideLondon-Surrey 100 on 31st July – a 100 mile cycle around the London 2012 Olympic road cycling course which weaves about the Surrey hills and ends on the Mall (the one that leads to all those lovely road closures). 100 miles is just shy of a cycle to Brighton and back. I am aiming for a time of around 7 hrs (average speed about 15 mph) so it’s a long way basically. To make it worse there is a time limit so if you don’t go fast enough you won’t finish. The hills, in particular, are going to be very painful and it’s a serious test of endurance (the less said about chamois cream the better). In other words, you will get your money's worth from the sponsorship!

Why am I doing this? Well it is a convenient excuse to wear lycra but I am also raising money for WWF (not the wrestlers). This is the serious bit. WWF aims to share the planet’s resources more sustainably, tackle global climate change and protect endangered wildlife. I have long supported WWF and really believe in its aims. I have been lucky enough to travel to some places with really special wildlife and the world would be a poorer place without them. I did a Biology degree at university and the conservation module was terribly depressing. The reality is that there is so much more we can do to protect wildlife at home and abroad and the pressure is only going to grow with the world population dramatically increasing. WWF has real weight as a well funded and respected lobbying body, for example, it had a delegation that lobbied to influence the Paris climate change agreement. It has helped to increase the number of tigers in the wild by around 700 in the last six years. In addition, I have seen its work at a grassroots level in Madagascar working to conserve coral habitats from overfishing and forests from slash and burn agriculture. My impression was that this work, which aims to create sustainable long term solutions, also improves the lives of the communities living in these areas so everyone's happy. Anything you can give would be hugely appreciated and will make a difference to a really worthy cause for the whole planet. Many thanks.