I'll be 70 on 13th May and what better way to celebrate than to challenge myself and raise money for a good cause at the same time. I'm a good walker, knees won't let me run  and I'm a rubbish cyclist so....

The ride starts on my birthday and finishes on the 22nd May. I will be cycling about 530km through West Flanders in  Belgium,  usually doing between  between 50 and 60km a day. 

I’m doing it to raise money for APOPO which is a non-profit organisation that trains African giant-pouched rates to save lives by finding landmines or detecting TB.  

APOPO’s mission is to develop detection rats technology to provide solutions for global problems and inspire positive social change – and it works!    It takes about 9 months to fully train a Tuberculosis detection rat and once trained they can screen thousands of sputum samples every month. The research and development in this diagnostic approach seeks to curb the spread of this deadly disease.

The rats are trained at its Headquarters in Morogoro  (Tanzania)  The research centre also carries out behavioural and operational research to constantly improve its innovative HeroRAT technology. From here the rats are sent to enhance the livelihoods of communities by regaining their land from the threat of landmines or to fight tuberculosis. All the rat trainers in Morogoro are employed locally.

It does work!

Once trained a Tuberculosis detection rate can screen thousands of sputum samples every month.

In 2015 Mozambique was officially declared mine free and work continues in Angola, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

Do look at their website www.apopo.org 
and there is also a TED talk which is very informative:
www.ted.com/talks/...how_i_taught_rats_to_sniff_out_land_mines