There are two passions in my life - gaming and cycling. And so with the arrival of RideLondon 2020 I get the chance to combine the two - riding a stupidly long distance on my bike, all while raising money for SpecialEffect, the Gamers' Charity. Or at least I was going to - until that damn pandemic hit home.

Long story short, I've been aware of SpecialEffect for years. Having enjoyed games from a young age, and then having worked in the videogames industry, I've been witness to the great work that the SpecialEffect team have achieved over the years keeping gamers gaming, no matter what level of mobility they have. 

Enabling severely disabled gamers the chance to utilise technology in order to continue gaming, SpecialEffect have the skills required to create gaming solutions for all needs, specialising in Eye Control Technology.

Check out their work on the links below...

http://www.specialeffect.org.uk/specialeffect-news

https://www.instagram.com/specialeffectteam/

https://twitter.com/SpecialEffect

https://www.facebook.com/SpecialEffectCharity

The Prudential RideLondon is one the world's greatest festivals of cycling. Developed in 2013 by the Mayor of London, the latest edition of this event was due to take place over the weekend of the 15-16 August 2020, with the 100 mile London to Surrey sportive on Sunday 16 August. The plan was to see me taking part in the challenge with a SpecialEffect jersey on my back. 

But then the event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

That isn't the end though. The organisers of RideLondon have instead decided to run the MyRideLondon route, allowing participants to clock their progress against the real-world course, whilst still being able to raise some money for the charity of their choice - charities which have been hit massively by a huge drop in funding. 

MyRideLondon offered up four options - a freecycle in which you could ride your own distance, a 19 mile spin for those looking to hit a challenge, a 46 miler, or the biggy... 100 miles. 

Needless to say I'm going for the latter - 100 miles. 

BUT... I'm also pushing the boat out a little further, attempting another 100 miles but this time in the virtual world of Zwift. And believe me, that's going to be a world of pain.

1 man - 1 weekend - 2 days - 2 bikes - 200 miles - £750 going towards SpecialEffect - Unlimited fun.

Anyways, please help me meet my fundraising goal of £750 which will go towards helping SpecialEffect continue their brilliant work. 

Cheers. 

Neil