It is now 2016 and this year marks the 6th consecutive year I will be lucky enough to take part in Cycling4Gaza's annual ride, something I happy and very proud of.

The aim has always been to try and alleviate some of the suffering forced upon Palestinians in the occupied territories and surrounding refugee camps. As with each previous ride, we have partnered up with an existing charity meaning all the money we raise goes directly to an established and proven cause. This year PACES is the worthy recipient, a charity which provides healthy, structured after-school programs for Palestinian children, providing employment to many coaches to take on this task. See the link below for more details on their great work. Immediately prior to the ride, the Norway Cup  will take place in Oslo where PACES will be present, having prepared and transported multiple boys and girls youth teams to take part in the prestigious football competition. Palestine have in the past won this cup and hope to do so again, which all things considered is a remarkable achievement. If time allows, a number of us will be present at the event to support the Palestinian teams.

A key part of the event is the challenge involved, riding for 3 long days, covering 300km is no easy feat. Then throw in the mountainous Norwegian terrain and it becomes a real challenge. Clearly training for this takes time and numerous long, lonely, cold and wet evenings after work cycling up the A40 until the lights switch off (really yes)… and occasionally getting a puncture approaching midnight, on the M25, without a repair kit or mobile phone (again, really yes).

Without deliberating much further, I’ll get to the sucker-punch… money! The astonishing amount we have raised in past years (above $200k on some rides) is testament to all the support that you have shown. Please, please show that support again and donate generously to the cause. I may have asked you before in which case you should know that I only do one major money raising event each year, and for the past 6 years this has been it. I promise to not bother you for another 12 months, surely not hearing from me for that long is worth something!!

Thanks for reading and for showing your support, now and in the past.

Nabeel

PACES
http://cycling4gaza.com/our-charity-partners/paces/
http://pacescharity.org/ 
(pls watch the short 2min video on the homepage)