Back in depths of winter in 2015, my wife Tammy gave birth to our son Reuben. The birth went well, but when arrived he wasn't breathing and had to have lots of antibiotics.

Roo wasn't very well for the first week or so of his life and the special care baby unit (SCBU) at Hinchinbrooke hospital did a fantastic job caring for him and mum.

The SCBU need your help. The NHS can't cover the cost of those 'extras' that make the very early stages of life easier for those babies and their families.

Donations to SCBU have been used to fund some of the following (amongst many other things):

• A TV and fridge for the Parents Room on Holly Ward
• Oxygen monitoring kit to allow children’s oxygen levels to be monitored in their own homes
• Distraction unit to help brain damaged babies
• Two Transcutaneous billirubinomonitor one each for SCBU and Holly Ward assessment areas which will prevent the need for the standard NHS treatment of a blood test for many of the babies.

When Reuben was well enough to leave the hospital I promised that I would do a fund raising event, so here it is!

As many of you know, I am a keen cyclist. I have done some "long distance" rides before. My last charity fund raising event was way back in 2012 - 100 miles, it was very difficult. These days I can do 100 miles without too much trouble. 

250 miles however is a totally different ball game...

I am likely to spend about 17 hours in the saddle. I'll have to set off from St. Ives at around 3am. If there's a headwind, it's likely to be even more time in the saddle. Including stops, we'll be looking at maybe a 20 hour long day. It's going to be very, very...very hard!

This will be self supported (carrying all our own food, water, repair stuff etc). No nice vans with coffee etc following us.

I'm going with a small selection of hardened (crazy?) cycling buddies of mine - which means that we can look out for each other if someone crashes or just keels over..

I'm genuinely not sure whether I'll make it, and I'm really not sure what I'm going to do if I get stuck half way.. Your sponsorship will not only help out the babies and parents going through some tough times on the special care baby unit, but it might help me get to Newcastle too.

Stick around for training updates (you have to train for this sort of distance..)!

Many thanks!
John.