The Planning process

With a lot of maps and the back of some envelopes, Oli & I have settled on our route from the East London Headway House in Dalston to the Headquarters of the Marine Police in Monte Carlo (which appears to be the southern most point of the city!). I am sure that it will change as we go along - I will definitely be looking for shortcuts and roads to avoid any big hill climbs - but at least we have some idea of the roads we will take.

If you have already visited the Justgiving page and made a donation, then you will already know that on 2nd September, Oli and I will leave from East London Headway House at Bradbury House on Kingsland Road in Hackney to cycle nearly 1000 miles to Monte Carlo to raise money for the development of family support and outreach services for those who attend the Headway House.

If you haven't made a donation yet then you can go immediately to the justgiving page and give us some money.

We will be keeping you up to date with our progress as we go along and recount our experiences along the way. There may even be a photo or three.

We had originally planned to make this trip in April 2008 but had to postpone because I hadn't done enough planning or cycling. 6 months on and I could still do with a bit more training. We will be covering 65-75 miles each day for 12 days and unlike Mark Beaumont we will be staying in local hotels and B&B's along the way - no camping for me - even though Oli was quite keen!!

So far we have discovered that we both like red wine and that neither of us feels fit enough for the trip! There are still 11 days to go - still time for a ride or two - trying to fit in 100 miles a week on training rides has been difficult and weeks with less than 20miles do little for the averages.

Will publish the route details before we leave along with details of our trip sponsors who are meeting some of the costs so that all the money donated goes to HEL.