I, with the support of Charles Ryland, Julian Hoskins, Chris Rawlin and Hamish Coull, have decided to try to coax our old bodies to cycle our equally ancient bikes across France 1100km to raise money for the fantastic charity Supporting Wounded Veterans (SWV) since learning how inadequately our brave wounded veterans are treated after being medically discharged from the military, especially after risking their lives for us and our country.

At the beginning of March I was privileged to be part of a group of buddies to help and support 19 seriously injured veterans for a week in Switzerland to regain their confidence and start their rehabilitation and give them a route out of their current, often extremely lonely, situation. Each one of these incredibly brave veterans have their own massive struggles since being medically discharged from the military - 14 of the veterans are diagnosed and been in treatment for severe clinical PTSD, 4 veterans have life changing physical injuries (double amputees and multiple injuries) and 1 with severe mobility issues - all of these injuries were sustained through operational tours or serious accidents on live exercises. 

The thought of skiing for a week and being with other people was a massive challenge for them and their anxiety was huge. They arrived extremely nervous and with little life in their eyes but after a very full and carefully designed programme of physical and mental support and activities, as well as being with like minded military veterans, they all left very different people - huge smiles and with a renewed sense of confidence.  Some quotes from the veterans explains this:

 - “this was easily the best week of my life since becoming ill and I feel I have turned a massive corner”.

 - “****ing mega! Life changing! I never knew I would be able to do anything again. It has given me the confidence in myself I thought I would never find again” - strong words from a quiet and humble veteran

 - “I thought I’d forgotten how to smile”

 - “maybe the most powerful moment as a veteran is when you stop thinking about dying for the people you love and live for them instead”

- “This was the most humbling and fulfilling week of my life and it has simply changed my life” - me.

The week is only the beginning of their journey and each veteran will be supported by an incredible team at SWV over the next 12 months to help them rehabilitate back to a fulfilling, meaningful and purposeful civilian life through ongoing personal mentoring, employment programmes, pain relief pathways as well as a network of support. Out of the 350 wounded veterans that SWV has helped since 2012, 92% have found a new purpose and meaningful employment.

Like all charities they rely on donations and in May we are setting off from Caen to cycle across France to end up in Chamonix at the foothills of Mont Blanc. It is c1100km (c690 miles) and most of our bags are full of multiple lotions, creams and large cases of ibuleve gel. We will be paying all the costs therefore every £ donated will go towards supporting the great work this charity does. 

We are sure you will agree that it is a fantastically worthwhile cause to be part of and to fund raise for. Thank you very much for reading this and we very much hope that you are inspired to help these amazing men and women - what ever you feel able to donate will be hugely appreciated and thank you. You can follow us on Instagram Caen2montblanc1100