The global pandemic and periods of national lockdown have been so difficult for families in The Black Country. In my role at Metro Bank I have seen first hand the impact interruption and reductions in income can have on people's ability to put food on the table. The Black Country Food Bank have provided an invaluable lifeline for those in need at this time, and I wanted to do something to help.

At Metro Bank Merry Hill store as lockdown 1 began back in March, we collected donations for the food bank in our banking hall and had an incredible response from our customers. Right across the Black Country individuals and businesses have been so supportive of the Food Bank in terms of food donations, but this time round in lockdown 2 I have decided instead to set myself a personal challenge to raise some physical cash to support the administration and overheads incurred in the logistics of providing this vital service.

I've set a modest fundraising target which I'm hoping to exceed, and I'm also looking forward to the inevitable health and well-being benefits that training for and cycling 40 miles will bring.

40 miles may not sound like much. Keen amateur cyclists regularly smash 40 miles on road bikes on a Sunday morning. This challenge however will be completed on a much heavier mountain bike, along the winding, muddy, dark and at some points downright treacherous canal towpaths of the Black Country. I will be completing a loop from Metro Bank Merry Hill store, joining the canal at the delph locks and winding my way through Stourbridge, Kinver, Wombourne, Tettenhall and finally by road to Wolverhampton Metro Bank Store around lunch time. After some much needed sustenance and a quick photo opp, it will be back on the bike and back on the canal following the railway route through Coseley, Tipton and Dudley Port before making a sharp right towards Merry Hill and completing the loop.  The final leg includes a spooky two mile ride through the infamous Netherton Canal Tunnel, not for the faint of heart, and with weary legs I'm hoping to be back at Merry Hill by night fall.  This is very much a "couch to..." challenge for me, so any support both moral and financial will be much appreciated.

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