Things like this don't come naturally to me, I'm built for family days at home and the odd game of substandard cricket, not activities that involve mental and physical stamina. So why on earth am I choosing to sacrifice fathers day to be in Clapham for 8:30 am to then cycle 54 miles to Brighton?

2 reasons....
1, my entry fee served as a donation to the British Heart Foundation. A charity that is well known and is doing fantastic work to understand and treat heart conditions, which is something that myself and my daughter both have (sorry darling, you got Daddy's dodgy heart) and has seen my daughter go under the knife aged 9 months to prolong the life of her heart valves, a procedure which was no doubt discovered and researched as part of money donated to organisations such as the British Heart Foundation and has so far negated the need for open heart surgery.

2, To try and raise money for a charity that is close to my heart, and has affected the lives of all of my family, as well as many of our friends in such a positive way. Special Kids in the UK is not a big charity like the BHF, but the work it does and benefits it provides to it's members are just as important. Special Kids in the UK aims to help the lives of families of children with disabilities by offering a network of trust and friendship, through an online support forum to subsidised trips at venues all over the country that allow families to meet up and have days out together. There is an annual camping event attended by over 50 families of children with disabilities which is again subsidised, activities are laid on free of charge to those attending, and special changing spaces are paid for and provided to allow families of children who otherwise could not camp without access to an accessible changing space to attend and participate. This event alone is the highlight of many families' year and to keep it running so successfully requires fundraising of all kinds, and I am trying to do my bit to help. Every little donation helps, so please do help in any way you can x 

For more information, please visit www.specialkidsintheuk.org

Training has been going ok so far, I am aiming for survival, a time of under 5 hours cycling time and most of all to enjoy it!

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Thank you in advance