As some of you know, I am a trustee and co-founder of Kennedy's Disease UK (KD-UK), which Kate Hopps and I set up in March last year.  It is the only UK based charity raising funds to help raise awareness of this awful disease and to fund research at UCL to find a cure.  Kate's husband, Frank, a good friend and former neighbour, is a KD sufferer.  Without saying too much more, please take a moment to have a look at our site, www.kd-uk.com, it would be a frist step in raising awareness.

KD-UK is entirely run by volunteers, so the funds raised aren't being wasted on chunky salaries and huge overheads.  We want to help make sure that this rare, often misdiagnosed disease is recognised as well as making people aware of the effect it has on sufferers, their families and their friends.  We hope that our efforts will help the research team find a cure.

Anyway, that's the serious bit.  Over 8 days in July 2016, myself and a group of 25 or so (amateur/fat/unfit) cyclists will tackle the route from my home town of Chamonix, to Venice.  The route is a little over 1,000 kms in length, although that's not really the problem. It traverses many infamous cols and passes in the Swiss Alps and Italian Dolomites - there are 23 major climbs with a combined ascent of nearly 20,000 metres, reaching 2,760 metres at the highest point.

It is no ordinary challenge. Even for the fittest cyclists, this is a huge test of endurance. The route closely follows the “Haute Route”, widely labelled as the highest and toughest cyclo-sportive in the world. Yes, we are not battling this against the clock, but neither do we have the closed roads, nor medical and mechanical support that the Haute Route riders do. Several of the stages would comfortably qualify as Tour de France stages, with many hours in the saddle each day and a calorie consumption equivalent to that of running a marathon. For 8 days in a row.

I honestly think that it might be a step too far for a fat old man with a dodgy ticker and a propensity to black out after breakfast, but I will do my utmost to finish every day.  The ride is entirely self-funded, all monies raised will go straight to the charity.

Thanks for taking the time to read this far.  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.