On July 19th 2012 I will be taking part in the Marie Curie Land's End to John O'Groats Cycle ride. The route will take 10 days and will cover 972 miles.

Day 1: Land's End to Okenhampton
Day 2: Okehampton to Bristol
Day 3: Bristol to Bewdley via Wales
Day 4: Bewdley to Oldham
Day 5: Oldham to Penrith
Day 6: Penrith to Peebles
Day 7: Peebles to Kinross
Day 8: Kinross to Aviemore
Day 9: Aviemore to Brora
Day 10: Brora to John O'Groats

I am doing this challenge in memory of my Grandad and my cousin Michael Gower (who sadly passed away in March this year aged 36). My Grandad passed away in April 1997 after battling cancer for nearly 3 years. Both Michael’s Mother and Father also passed away after battling cancer for several years.

Raising money for Marie Curie means a lot to me as they looked after both my Grandad and my Grandma during the time of my Grandads illness.

Marie Curie Cancer Care provides high quality nursing, totally free, to give people with terminal cancer and other illnesses the choice of dying at home, supported by their families. It runs nine Marie Curie Hospices across the UK offering free specialist care for patients and support for families. The charity conducts palliative care research to find better ways of caring for terminally ill people and also funds scientists who investigate the causes and treatments of cancer.

For progress of the challange and preperation information please visit: http://ianarhodes.tumblr.com/

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.