Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Since losing my brother, Glen, in 2012, I have wanted to do something to raise awareness about the impact on friends, family and the sufferers of addiction to drink and drugs.

As many of you know, my mum and Rod are in Portugal and Glen never got to visit them over there.  In May/Jume 2014, I plan to cycle on my bicycle named Derek, from West Sussex in the UK to Mortagua in Portugal over 4-5 weeks.  That's a few thousand miles so I'll have to cycle 100 miles per day and camp overnight through France, Spain and Portugal before finally arriving at mum's.  Yes, I have named my bike after Glen's middle name :) I hope to be able to document my journey and keep you all updated on my progress through this page, Facebook and Skype.   

I almost played it safe and thought I would raise money for a charity with less stigma; a charity whose 'beneficiaries' weren't viewed with as much contempt as those who have an addiction...  But that wouldn't be helping any of the people who could potentially end up making the choices my brother made.  

Contrary to what the Daily Mail would have us all believe, people with drug addictions do not choose to be addicts.  They don't choose to make decisions that will eventually tip their life spiralling out of control and leave them in a place where they feel they have no choice at all.  

I want to help Addaction by raising money so they can continue to provide support and guidance, not just for the addict, but also for the family and friends of an addict.  There are hundreds of thousands of people in the UK battling with addiction - perhaps the money raised from my cycle can help just 1 person turn their life around and save another family from the heartache and grief of losing a loved one.

I also want to use this as an opportunity to raise awareness and remove the stigma associated with drug and drink addiction.  Please give generously if you believe in the cause.

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 the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.