You're doing what? Why?

Whilst the charity element is important (if you are doing something ridiculous make sure people give money to charity for it) it would be unfair to say that’s the sole reason why I’m doing this trip. I would have wanted to do it anyway. As my thirties get closer to ending I find that I am fascinated by feats of endurance or derring-do. I imagine that this is what is known as a mid-life crisis. With a group whose ages are between eighteen and fifty-two this cannot be why everyone else is doing this though.

Last year I intended to run the Brighton marathon, but two periods of snow bookmarked by illnesses meant that my training fell behind. With six weeks to go I decided to pull out. I was gutted, but it was the right thing to do. I would never have finished. Except by ambulance.

I am already a fair weather cycle commuter with a daily round trip of between seventeen and twenty-two miles (depending on whether I get a train at London Bridge in the morning). I know what it feels to cycle fifty miles, so with planned distances of forty-five to seventy-odd I can visualise each day. The interesting bit is going to be getting up day after day after day to do this.

In case this wasn’t hard enough, the added element of playing gigs as we go should test tired arms and legs even further. I recently took up the ukulele and hope to take this and the melodica on this journey.