UPDATE: A BIG thank you for all the well wishers and donations for my Marmotte ride which happened Saturday just gone. It was a gruelling day, the toughest point for me was getting over the 2645m Galiblier Mountain pass in one piece! In all I finished the 174km, 4 mountain passes in 8hours 25mins. If anyone would still like to make a donation towards the Donald Woods Foundation, the page is still running.   Also to raise a bit more money I'm thinking about auctioning my cycling shorts! Thanks again 

Graham

Hi everyone. This Saturday I'll be donning my tightest lycra and attempting the daddy of all cycling challenges, La mighty Marmotte in France. For the past year I have been out training in all weathers, shedding those extra pounds, all for this coming event in which I will try to cycle 174km across four 1st category climbs of the Tour de France in one day. In all I will be climbing an eye watering 5000 meters and all in support of an excellent cause, the Donald Woods Foundation, for which I am hoping to raise £1,000. 

The DWF is an fantastic registered charity set up by the family and friends of Donald Woods (my late father-in-law) to support programmes in health, education and community-building across South Africa, with its major focus on projects in Mbashe - the area of South Africa where both Nelson Mandela and Donald Woods were born. 

Much of this area suffers around 89% unemployment and is in desperate need of the most basic of resources. To date the DWF have built 8 clinics for HIV, TB and Orphans and Vulnerable Children in what is now the largest integrated rural HIV programme in South Africa. They would like to build 5 more clinics like these and your donations will enable them to do this. 

For information about the charity, see www.donaldwoods.org. I am hoping that you will be able to make a contribution by sponsoring me on the Marmotte, all amounts will be very gratefully received.

Thank you for your support

Graham

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

So please dig deep and donate now.