My 70th birthday looms next February, so, before I need to have more body parts replaced, l am putting in maximum effort  to raise as much money as I can for these terrific Truant’s Children’s Charities - NORDOFF ROBBINS MUSIC THERAPY, TEENAGE CANCER TRUST and CHILDLINE/NSPCC. So, I've set myself a challenge: To cycle 6,660 km in 13 months (that’s 4138 miles, further than London to Chicago!) staring January 1st this year. 

So far (to Oct 30), I’ve already cycled 5632km (3499 miles) on a variety of bikes, indoors and out. The total includes a recent 880km ride across the Nullabor Desert and Great Australian Bight between Perth and Adelaide (and did a bit of work while I was down there!) and also the June Heavy Metal Truants ride London to Download (254km). The rest is cycling in a variety of locations both indoors and out – Exercise bikes, Peloton, Wahoo Kickr, road and mountain bikes.

Very soon in mid - November I go off-road for around 400km in 5 days from Dar Es Salaam through TANZANIA and ZANZIBAR in Africa.

Then last but certainly not least, THE TRUANTS 2020 RIDE – 220km (136mi) in 48 hours in Vietnam from Hanoi to Halong Bay with 50 other Truants in January next year.  By the end of this final ride l will make sure l have cycled at least 6660km and on every continent except Antarctica!

To quote a gentleman called Matt Seaton ”As mid-life crises go, dressing up in Spandex and pretending you are in the Tour de France seems a pretty benign delusion”. And can be worthwhile too!

You can follow this adventure on Instagram @truants_rod and if you have a laugh looking at pictures of me wearing lycra and suffering(!), please throw a few quid into the pot at race-nation.com/sponsor/e/207396 - it all goes to very worthwhile causes! 

Thanks for your continued support and wish me luck!

-       Rod