I am cycling from London to Bestival, on the Isle of Wight to raise money for Cancer Research UK and to support Cycle Safe campaign launched by The Times.

Eight years ago, I lost my 53-year-old father to prostate cancer, and two years ago I lost a very good friend to a rare bone cancer two weeks after his 30th birthday.  Both were the greatest people you could possibly wish to meet and it is so wrong that they weren't allowed to enjoy a full and long life.  Advancements in cancer treatments are being made all the time so it's vital that charities like Cancer Research UK keep receiving strong funding to further their progress in fighting cancer.

From a cycle safe perspective, The Times launched their campaign last year after my colleague Mary Bowers was involved in a severe road accident with a lorry, which left her in a coma.  This accident happened shortly after Mary returned from Bestival, so - with a nod to her love for music and cycling - this feels like an appropriate challenge to honour her and help the Cycle Safe cause.  

If you feel that our roads - particularly in cities - should be made safer for all road users to coexist then do look into the campaign and see how you can contribute to the cause.  Hopefully through raising awareness, debating the issue and assessing how improvements can be made then more incidents like this can be avoided to make cycling an enjoyable and accessible mode of transport for all.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/

Thanks for reading, and if you are able to donate then that is hugely appreciated.

Ped