Dom & Amit are taking part in the Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100 mile bike ride this summer.

While Dom may have done this a few times, Amit hasn't ridden a bike since losing his sight a few years ago and neither of them have ever ridden a tandem before!

Why are they doing this, you might ask? Well, Dom has been a passionate supporter of Guide Dogs for many years and on meeting Amit and Kika (Guide Dog) foolishly suggested they do the bike ride on a tandem together, conditional upon finding a suitable bike of course. Challenge accepted, bike sourced and now all they have to do is train!

Why Guide Dogs? We all know that sight loss is life changing but Amit's story is testament to how life changing getting a Guide Dog can be.

In 2014, Amit lost his sight rather suddenly and was registered blind. From being very active as a trauma doctor, Amit's life was turned upside down and he had to learn to do everyday tasks all over again. Leaving the house was scary and Amit had so many negative experiences when navigating London using just a white cane - people knocking him over, barging into him, struggling to find his way around and then being completed mentally exhausted from the stress of trying to do a simple journey.

Fortunately, Amit met some good people along the way who introduced him to Guide Dogs for the Blind. Being naturally cautious as he had never had a dog before, Amit starting taking steps to better understand what a Guide Dog does and how it could help him. It took just 6 weeks on the waiting list before Amit was paired to his Guide Dog, Kika. And Kika has changed his life, and that of his family, completely. 

Kika gives Amit the strength to go out again and be himself - independent, confident and strong. Kika takes Amit safely across London using trains, tubes and buses, navigating busy stations like she owns it! The bond that Amit and Kika have is unbreakable, they are inseparable. She really is a life changer and Amit and his family are so blessed to have her and so grateful to Guide Dogs for giving them this opportunity.

We want to make sure that other people can experience first hand the joy and independence that having a Guide Dog can bring to their lives. And also that Guide Dogs as a charity can continue to breed, train and support Guide Dog partnerships alongside all the other wonderful work that they do.

It costs Guide Dogs just under £55,000 to support a Guide Dog from birth to retirement. Guide Dogs relies on donations to continue their life-changing work. And it really is just that - life changing.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. 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.