In just 6 ½ weeks on Sunday October 5th, I’ll be attempting to cycle 45(!) miles (74 km) for the Prince’s Trust – riding from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle.

My relationship with exercise has varied over the years – I dabble in and out of it – and usually it means floating in a swimming pool or laying down on a yoga mat, so cycling training is coming as a bit of a shock (and so are the padded cycling shorts!). The average participant takes between 4 and 5 hours to finish the ride, so safe to say it is going to hurt – even with the padded shorts!

Together with a group of Xerox friends, families and loved ones, I’m hoping to raise a decent amount of cash for the Prince’s Trust. They do some pretty amazing things to support people from ages 13 to 30 who are unemployed or struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. They give practical and financial support to stabilise their lives – developing key skills, confidence and motivation, enabling young people to move into work, education or training.

So far training has involved getting multiple bruises and scrapes, getting caught in the hailstones and making friends with the whole of my local Halfords!

If you would like to support this cause, any donation would be welcomed! You can donate online here: https://www.justgiving.com/AndreaLouiseDavis/

Thanks for reading anyway – and wish me luck with the training!