The Who and Why Question

This is the part where lines such as "just recently I have begun to realise that I have no longer got an uninterrupted view of my feet" are placed. Those of you who know me may well agree in part with this statement however I can assure you all I can still see my toes. On consulting several reliable sources , this condition is diagnosed as one of two things, middle age (did I just type that) and being a little to fond of the occasional Stella. These sources go on to say that these most contagious of diseases can only be held in check by one, highly unpleasant course of treatment - what leading physicians privately describe as "exercise". So I've decided to go for a bike ride.

Luckily cycling is not a new past time for me, having spent my teenage years racing in the colours of Weaver Valley Cycle Club in the north west of England. This did however stop on starting Poly in Leeds. Living in the city centre did not provide an ideal base for pleasant cycling, taking half an hour to get out into the country and the same time to get home, all the time risking injury at the hands of other road users, so I took up safer past times such as climbing and caving.

As I grew older and wiser (one way to say I lost some of my nerve), along with a couple of moves around the country the number of times I was getting out climbing reduced to only a couple of trips per year. Whilst the last of these moves was being planned a friend suggested that Scotland, my current home was the ideal place for mountain biking. Twenty four hours later I was in possession of my first of many mountain bikes. These have taken me all round the UK and across the pond (wrapped up in a big bag) to California and Arizona several times.

Riding from Lands End to John O'Groats has been at the back of my mind for many years, from talk of a non stop relay team effort back in my racing days to occasionally talking about it in the pub.
This leads on to the questions "Why now? & Why Guide Dogs?". Earlier this year my girlfriends grandfather unfortunately passed away. He had suffered from a loss of sight however having a Guide Dog had allowed him to continue to live his life to the full. This along with a family association with the Guide Dogs charity, from doing a couple of sponsored events whilst a child including walking from Coast to Coast to my parents involvement with one of their local fund raising groups, Guide Dogs is a charity I am more than happy to support.

Then I opened my mouth and said I was thinking about going to do it! I've read several other peoples accounts of the trip, one of the first things they state is once you tell some one your thinking of doing it, that's it, your committed.