In order to get a seriously needed fitness boost and to raise some money for an amazing charity, I have signed up for Cycle to MIPIM – this is London to Cannes (in the south of France - gulp!) on a bike between the 7th and the 12th of March. It is absolutely gruelling with some days being over 300km!! The money raised will support a number of charities and projects. The main beneficiary is Coram, the UK’s first children’s charity. Founded in 1739, Coram works with some of the most vulnerable children in our communities. Its range of services includes Coram Adoption, that works to find children a safe, loving and permanent new home, and a family that can offer them all the support they need to improve their lives. Children like James, who was removed from his birth mother’s care due to concerns that he was suffering significant harm at home. James’ mother had severe mental health problems, and it was very difficult to identify a family for him as he was genetically vulnerable to developing mental illness. However, Coram found a loving forever family for James, and he has made wonderful progress. His speech has improved enormously and he has become more confident and outgoing, making great progress in his new environment. The support doesn’t end there: Coram provides a lifetime of support to all its families, to ensure that they have all the help that they need to stay together and thrive. So if you could dig deep it would be really appreciate and make a massive difference! To give you an idea of just how far your sponsorship goes, here is a breakdown of what £350,000 means to Coram: • You are enabling Coram Adoption to find and prepare 152 adoptive parents. • You are helping to provide post-adoption support to 56 children and their families for life, helping them to thrive. • Thanks to you, 15 vulnerable children can be adopted, placing them with loving and secure families and giving them the stability they need. In 2018 the ride raised £725,000! For my part I am doing between 7 and 9 spin classes a week at the gym! (i.e. sometimes 2 a day!) - this is more that the instructors do + road training! Still it’s very hard to imagine cycling the equivalent of London to Devon for several days in a row! Despite having paid the entry fee and getting Signium’s London Legal team to generously sponsor the physios, I still need to raise a few more pounds! Thanks in advance for your support!