Recently Ashgate launched their Urgent Appeal to allow them to sustain the amazing service they provide for our community. A good friend of mine, Zach Law, completed a gruelling 24 hour ride to raise vital funds and amassed over £7,000 for in the space of a week. I was genuinely so inspired by Zach's effort and the amazing fundraising that I decided I would replicate this challenge myself to see if we can double the funds that Zach raised. However he is a much more accomplished and gifted cyclist than I am, someone who as a cyclist I have great admiration for, so I think it is fair to say this is going to be a real challenge for me.

I am determined to beat both the mental and physical battle to get through this, it is going to take all my strength and determination to ride for 24 hours covering the distance from North Derbyshire (where Ashgate provide their vital services) to Dartmouth. I have chosen to do this all on a virtual trainer at home under the current lockdown situation and will be live streaming the event on YouTube. I've chosen the 3rd June as it would have been my dads 74th Birthday and I wish now more than ever that he was here to celebrate it!

Read why I am riding this gruelling challenge for Ashgate:

In 2018 my dad fell very unexpectedly ill and after a short spell in hospital our family was dealt the mind-numbing, devastating and gut wrenching news that my dad had been diagnosed with terminal cancer!

Dad was many things to many people but to me he was my hero. He was the man who taught me so much in life without ever having to actually sit me down and teach it to me. He lead by example with a degree of selflessness which is unmatched by anyone in my estimation.

Dad had strict instructions and a promise honoured by mum that he was not to spend his final days or to lay to rest in a hospital. Ashgate Hospice were able to make sure that mum had the help and support when she needed it to keep dad at home where he wanted to be. We had to take dad to Ashgate Hospice to spend his final days among some of the most caring, kind and attentive people, who really did their very best to make sure dad was at peace and in no pain when he left us; a hospice in the true essence of the word. He was truly at peace with mum beside him holding his hand.

There is never a day that doesn't go by where I don't think about my dad. I miss him terribly and I would give so much just to have a few more minutes with him but I feel so much for my mum who is heartbroken and has lost her one and only true soulmate, in some ways this pain is the worst for me as a son.

We received so much care and kindness from Ashgate, so much so that there is an endless support network for my mum and in that she is trying to rebuild her life. I don't think until you have seen the support and care from Ashgate first hand that you can truly appreciate what they do for people in their local community. In my humble opinion they are an essential part of people's lives but sadly have to survive on their own two feet and this is why I want to fundraise for them!