On Sunday 31 July 2016 I will be one of a mad team of BBC friends, employees and journalists, competing in one of the toughest, longest and biggest one-day cross-country races cycle in the UK, the London-Surrey Ride100. And I'll be racing it on a folding Brompton bicycle to raise money for BBC Media Action, the BBC's international development charity, which is not funded by the license fee.

The challenge 

The race is the cycling equivalent of the London marathon. Last year, by all accounts the race was cold, wet and miserable. The route takes in the unforgiving Box Hill and the steep inclines of Leith Hill in rural Surrey. And riding the race on a folding bicycle designed for a quick commute in the city is not going to be much fun!

A good cause

But it's all for a good cause. I work in the Asia team at BBC Media Action. Last year I spent two months in Nepal working on a programme following the earthquake there which affected the lives of millions. When a disaster of that magnitude hits, we air special programmes (through channels such as radio, television and mobile) to provide people affected by crises with actionable, practical information which they can use to survive and recover. In the wake of a humanitarian disaster, people need answers to questions such as: What happened? Where and what aid is coming? What risks am I facing and how can I protect myself? How can I search for my family? Which roads are safe to travel? I saw with my own eyes, in a country where the distribution of aid was so difficult, how our programmes were able to reach millions of people with the information they needed. We had people from the worst affected areas contacting us directly, saying they were able to get through their pregnancy safely or find support to demolish dangerous buildings as a result of listening to our programmes. One year on, and the programme is still on air - focusing on how people can rebuild their livelihoods and safely reconstruct their villages, reaching millions of people every week.

Your donations count!

BBC Media Action is not funded by the licence fee. Money from generous donations kick started our work in Nepal. Asia has some of the largest populations in the world at risk to natural disasters, and when the next humanitarian crisis hits, we need more generous donations in order to respond. So please, be generous, help us reach many more millions of people in need, and help me get through my bike ride! 

JustGiving

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.