Updated on May 8th 2012 at 11:24 PM from the JustGiving API

Wow, we're getting really close to the target - thank you so much everyone! You're all incredibly kind. See my facebook page for more regular updates, in which I try to avoid the topic of my increasingly sore bottom. X

We're cycling 500 miles on a tandem from London-Edinburgh on 6-11 May 2012.

I (Ollie) am doing the whole lot, but El, Amelia, Rich, Sophie, Ol and Donna are each going to help me get there by jumping on the second saddle for a day. Sore bums all round!

This will be the first time any of us have cycled by tandem. And the first time I've done six consecutive days of 80+ mile cycling. But don't worry - what we lack in experience we make up for in blind optimism.

We're doing it for Friends of the Earth as part of their Big Green Bike Ride fundraising challenge.

Friends of the Earth is a fantastic charity (and a really good place to work). Too many successes to mention here - but for example Friends of the Earth is the main reason we have doorstep recycling and national targets for cutting climate emissions.

We'll be putting short videos on this page so you can see how training is going (so far it's mostly been in the Wenlock Arms...) but In the meantime please be as generous as you can. We really appreciate it.

In case you need an added incentive, we're prepared to accept 'cash for punishment' style donations – e.g. sponsor us X amount and I'll ride 40 miles in a tu-tu. That sort of thing. Leave your ideas in the comments section...

Here's some housekeeping:

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 Friends of the Earth and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now. Thanks! xx