My personal bit...

I'm not a real cyclist, I'm a middle-aged hill runner with dodgy knees who likes a challenge. I've acquired a new second hand bike to replace my 17 year old one, and I've agreed to do the full distance from Police HQ, Colwyn Bay. I fear it might just break me!

I've served with colleagues who have died and been seriously injured in the line of duty, so this is a cause that resonates with me.

The challenge:

Day 1 (the warm up) - 120+ miles to Aberystwyth to meet the other Welsh riders.

Day 2 - 105 miles to Telford, Shropshire.

Day 3 - 60-80 (presumably we'll get lost somewhere) to Drayton Manor, Staffordshire.

Day 4 - 20 miles - the mass UK ride-in to the National Arboretum.

That's somewhere around 320 miles in total with an awful lot of hilly terrain thrown in (about 11,500 feet of ascent).

I don't normally do fundraising stuff, but this is genuinely going to be a challenge for me, so please sponsor me to motivate me not to give up in the middle of day 2!

Please give some of your money :-)

The National bit...

The Police Unity Tour is a long-distance cycle ride undertaken by

hundreds of police officers across the UK in aid of Care of Police Survivors (COPS).

The primary purpose of the Police Unity Tour is to raise awareness of Law Enforcement Officers who have died in the line of duty.

The secondary purpose of the UK tour is to raise funds for Care of Police Survivors, a UK charity dedicated to helping the families of police officers and police staff who have lost their lives on duty.

The cyclists will join together and finish their journey at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, where a Service of Remembrance is being held by COPS for their fallen friends and colleagues. See the video below to hear what the Police Unity Tour means for the charity's beneficiaries (survivors).