As some of you know, Andy is a trustee and co-founder of Kennedy's Disease UK (KD-UK), which he set up with Kate Hopps in 2014.  It is the only UK based charity raising funds to help raise awareness of this awful disease and to fund research at UCL to find a cure.  Kate's husband, Frank, a good friend and former neighbour, is a KD sufferer. Without saying too much more, please take a moment to have a look at our site, www.kd-uk.com, it would be a first step in raising awareness.

KD-UK is entirely run by volunteers, so the funds raised aren't being wasted on chunky salaries and huge overheads.  We want to help make sure that this rare, often misdiagnosed disease is recognised as well as making people aware of the effect it has on sufferers, their families and their friends.  We hope that our efforts will help the research team find a cure.

That's the serious bit.  Over 6 days in July 2022, the 3 of us plus a group of 40 or so (amateur/fat/unfit) cyclists will tackle the route from my home town of Chamonix, to Nice.  The route is around 670km in length, although that's not really the problem. It traverses many infamous cols and passes frequented by the Tour de France, a combined ascent of nearly 17,000 metres, reaching 2,564 metres at the highest point (nearly twice as high as Ben Nevis).

It is no ordinary challenge. Even for the fittest cyclists, this is a huge test of endurance. The route closely follows the “Route des Grandes Alpes", with a couple of diversions to make it tougher...  There will be many hours in the saddle each day and a calorie consumption equivalent to that of running a marathon. For 6 days in a row.

The ride is entirely self-funded, all monies raised will go straight to the charity.

Thanks for taking the time to read this far.  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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.