Why?

It’s dark, the temperature is below zero and it is the first of December. The idea of cycling the 400 miles of the Velo Francette route seems to be an impossible dream. I imagine the chance of me reaching the finish must be about 5%. So why embark on such a project?

For those who don’t know, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December 2014. A prostatectomy and radiotherapy didn’t stop the cancer spreading to my bones which means it is now incurable. I am taking part in the Stampede Trial (arm J) which involves hormone therapy to delay the inevitable…

A few years ago I cycled from Dunkirk to Paris and loved it, all 270 miles of it. Here I am posing at Place de la Concorde just to prove I made it.

I get a lot of side effects from the hormone therapy including fatigue & muscle wastage and the best way of fighting them is to take exercise so I need to set myself a target to get me out of the house this winter. La Velo Francette looks brilliant but maybe too ambitious? On verra..