STOP PRESS! As the totaliser is above £4000, I'm cycling back. The original overall target of £5000 is now in sight...

- You're a 47 year old prop forward - is that wise?

Quite possibly not.

- Why are you doing it anyway?

Well, I'm heading that way for a gathering of Joyces from around the world...

- Are any of them cycling?

Not that I'm aware.

- So...

the plan is to raise some money for QEHB Charity's Homes from Home and its Older People campaign. On the latter front I'm hoping to get a good chunk towards decorating an older people's ward that the hospital has recently refurbished.

- If it's been refurbished, why does it need decoration?

The hospital has gone a great job making it clean and functional, a good place to do medicine. But the Charity wants to go over and above that, making it less intimidating and more welcoming for its patients, particularly those suffering from any stage of dementia. This should help reduce patients' anxiety and make an inherently unpleasant experience less so.

- And the Homes from Home?

When my dad was dying, he was mostly treated near his and mum's house, but even tracking back and forth there was stressful enough. When he was transferred to a specialist unit the other side of London, we had to find somewhere to stay nearby, which was less than ideal and distracted us from what we were mainly there for, supporting him. QEHB is a regional centre for cancer, transplants and major trauma, so lots of families find themselves in the same boat. The charity provides accommodation for as many of those families as it can, free of charge to them, removing a big element of stress and letting them focus on their loved one's recovery. In these days of rising prices that costs a fair bit to do, but it's well worth it. But don't take my word for that:

* solo save for the Irish Sea where a ferry captain and his crew will be helping, as I don't think I can make the bike seaworthy...