Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page for the ParalympicsGB Appeal but please read on for how you can select which of my chosen charities to support or split your donation between the two!

One Sunday morning last summer, I read an article about James Cracknell, GB Olympic gold medalist, organising a cycle ride from John O'Groats to Lands End, and looking for volunteers to join him!

I was strangely drawn to this challenge and now, after 9 months of gruelling training, both out on the road and in the gym, the enormity of the challenge is still quite daunting. Will I be able to cycle an average of 115 miles per day for 9 consecutive days?

On June 12, several hundred of us will ride out from John O'Groats and will hopefully roll in to Lands End on June 20. Originally I was not going to seek sponsorship, as I know there are lots of demands on your cash, but the training has made me realise just how big a challenge this is and it is without doubt the most physically demanding thing that I have ever done and will probably ever do. So I am hoping that you will find this challenge worthy of a little sponsorship and I would be grateful for any amount.

The event itself has been organised in support of ParalympicsGB but I would like to split my fund raising between ParalympicsGB and the Orchid Cancer Appeal. Gift Aid rules mean that I cannot simply split the total raised between the two but must ask you to choose which of the two charities you would like to support. Or of course, you can split whatever you were going to donate between the two. I therefore have two JustGiving pages - one for each charity.

Please donate through the relevant page for the charity you wish to support, or split your sponsorship amount by making a separate donation on both pages. You are currently on my Just Giving page for ParalympicsGB - to visit my Just Giving page for the Orchid Cancer Appeal, please go to www.justgiving.com/gary-goodman0

I am meeting all of the costs of the ride, so all sponsorship monies will go directly to the two charities.

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now. Thank you very much and if you would like to follow my progress during the last couple of weeks of training and on the ride itself, please follow my blog at www.garygoodman.blogspot.com .