As some of you may know, I will be taking on the Etape Caledonia on 16th May - this is a 130km cycle ride through the scenic (and quite hilly!) Perthshire countryside in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. 

Having been out of the saddle for a couple of decades, it is taking some time to reacquaint myself with the joys of cycling - painful joints, bad back and near-death experiences on the road! I have been doing some training locally -  although the terrain is easier in these parts, and of course nothing can compare to the driving wind and rain of a typical May day in Scotland (although we did have a couple of showers at the weekend training run, so I have had some experience of wet lycra).

Although an amateur event I will be treating this like a professional cyclist and plan to use as many performance enabling drugs as I can get away with. Copious amounts of Vicodin and Ibuprofen will be in use before, during and after the event to dull the back, knee and rump pain sufficiently to get through the ordeal...

It will help ease my discomfort during the race to know that I will be helping to raise much needed cash for Macmillan Cancer Support. They do some great work with those affected by cancer and I'm sure you will agree this is a very worthwhile cause. You can see more details of Macmillan's work here.

Macmillan reckon one in three of us will get some form of cancer during our lifetime, so don't think of this so much as a donation, but more of an investment in your personal health plan!

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. 

All donations (no matter how large!) gratefully received!

Many thanks to all who contribute...

Colin