The route for the cycle challenge I am taking on has now been decided and we have managed to get the miles down slightly to 540! The route is below and if you have the opportunity to come out and support at any of the clubs across the country that would be fantastic.

Depart Newcastle Falcons 10.30 am 28th May  -  Arrive Leeds Carnegie 8pm 

Depart Leeds 10 am 29th May  -  Arrive Sale Sharks (Stockport FC) 2.30 pm

Depart Sale 10 am 30th May  -  Arrive Leicester Tigers 5.15 pm

Depart Leicester 10 am 31st May  -  Arrive Northampton Saints 12.45 pm  -  Depart Northampton 1.30 pm  -  Arrive Worcester Warriors 7.00 pm

Depart Worcester 10 am 1st June  -  Arrive Gloucester RFC 11.00 am  -  Depart Gloucester 11.45 am  -  Arrive Bristol RFC (Bristol Rovers FC) 2.00 pm  -  Depart Bristol 2.45 pm  -  Arrive Bath RFC 5.00 pm

Depart Bath 10.30 am 2nd June  -  Arrive London Irish RFC (Reading FC) 4.30 pm

Depart London Irish 10 am 3rd June  -  Arrive London Wasps RFC (Wycombe Wanderers FC) 12.15 pm  -  Depart London Wasps 1.00 pm  -  Arrive Saracens RFC (Watford FC) 2.45 pm  -  Depart Saracens 3.30 pm  -  Arrive Harlequins RFC 5.30 pm  -  Arrive Twickenham 6.00 pm

It would be a real boost to have support at the different grounds as we go around the country so if you are about and can perhaps 'nip' out of work for an extended lunch break then that would be fantastic. I completely understand that it is going to be very difficult for everyone to come and say 'hi' but please do if you can.

I will be posting daily reports on this blog section throughout the ride so please log in and check in the evenings to find out how much pain we are in!

Tom

The preparation for the bike ride in May is moving forward and I am really looking forward to setting off now. The 28th May has been confirmed as the date we will be leaving on and as far as we can we are now trying to work out exactly when we will be arriving at the different venues.

We are hoping to secure sponsorship from HM Plant, a company run by John Jones. HM Plant are the leading company in new excavator sales and are based in Hebburn, Newcastle. John and the ride team are in talks about how we can secure the sponsorship deal which will take me a long way down the road of reaching my £40,000 goal for Just for Kids.

Hilton have pledge their support for the ride. They have come on board as a secondary sponsor. Not only have they kindly donated all of the accommodation for the ride, but they have also donated a rider! Guy Hilton, GM of the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, has said he will ride the full journey to keep me company. He has done a good deal of cycling and I am hoping to use some of his experience to help me through the gruelling hills of the Pennines! He is already training and has taken his bike out this weekend for a few rides - slightly worrying as I am not going to be do any training properly for 10 days or so.

RP Martin, a broking firm in London, have also pledged a good sum of money which we are very grateful for. I have visited the broking offices and the lads in there are great guys who have shown their generosity by sponsoring us for the ride. I am going to go down to see them in London after the rugby season finishes to say thanks properly.

If you are on Facebook then please go on to The Tom May Bike Challenge Group where we are building support daily. It has been fantastic to get the levels of support we have done and we hope this continues. I just need to try to get all of the supporters in the group to sponsor me, whatever the sum, as this will all add up and take me further toward the target.

All information relating to the ride will be added to this blog in the build up and during the ride so keep checking the site to see how we are getting on.

Thanks for your support.

 If you would like to support me on my charity bike ride then click on the link below.

I have been set an ambitious target and need all the help i can get so anything is appreciated. 

http://www.justgiving.com/tomsjustforkidsbikeride 

Thanks

Tom

 The route for my Just for Kids bike ride this summer has been decided. We are going to leave from Newcastle instead of heading from London up North. We think by going in this direction we will be able to raise more funds for the charity.

The exact departure point will be confirmed in the coming weeks and when it is, it would be fantastic to have your support as i push off for the 550 mile trek. The route is below.

Newcastle - Leeds (93 miles) 1st Stay

Leeds - Sale RFC (48 miles) 2nd Stay

Sale - Leicester RFC (86 miles) 3rd Stay

Leicester - Northampton RFC (32 miles)

Northampton - Worcester RFC (66 miles) 4th Stay

Worcester - Gloucester RFC (29 miles)

Gloucester - Bristol RFC (33 miles)

Bristol - Bath RFC (14 miles) 5th Stay

Bath - London Irish (72 miles) 6th Stay

London Irish - London Wasps RFC (23 miles)

London Wasps - Saracens RFC (21 miles)

Saracens - Harlequins RFC (18 miles)

Harlequins - Twickenham (1 mile)

It will be really tough to complete this in the time scale i have set myself so any comments of support would be great. Also if you can get to any of the locations we are traveling to then it would be great to see some smiling faces when i get there! 

We will post the dates on this blog in a couple of weeks when the forms for pledging will also be available. It is a fantastic charity and if you are able to help in any way it will be an enormous bonus for the kids of the North East.

 I have just got back home from a meeting with Metro Radio and Magic 1152 and the size of the task in planning the event has begun to dawn on me! I went along with Gary Thompson and Claire Barber who are the team helping organize the ride. We met with Dan and Stephanie from the Just for Kids charity and discussed all of the different things that need to be catered for in the build up to the journey; things from informing the police about the route we are taking to arranging accommodation for the comfortable nights sleep I will definitely be needing!

Just for Kids is the official charity of Metro and Magic radio stations whose aim it is to raise and allocate funds to thousands of children who rely on charitable support. They have bought everything from computers with educational software, sports equipment and wheelchairs to a library of toys and books for preschoolers.

I have always talked about doing something for charity but I have never actually got round to committing myself to an event until I paid a visit to the cancer unit in the RVI before Christmas. I went in with around 5 lads and all of us were affected by what we experienced there and so I am really pleased to be working with Just for Kids and was even happier when they asked me to be a Patron of the charity; something I will be really proud to do.

  I am in the middle of preparing for what will probably be one of the hardest challenges I have ever faced! Having visited the kids in the Royal Victoria Infirmary's cancer wards just before Christmas I decided I would do something to try to raise some money for a charity over the summer.

I am going to try to cycle the length of the country (Newcastle-Twickenham or vice versa) in as short amount of time as possible. I will not go in a straight line, I am going to go via every other Premiership rugby club in the country. There has been some good news; when I types the route into Google it told me it was 601 miles. Obviously I am not allowed on highways and this has allowed me the luxury of only riding 548 on the smaller roads!

We are teaming up with a wide range of media companies who are going to raise the profile of the trip to help us get as much sponsorship as possible.

I am meeting Metro Radio tomorrow to start the ball rolling and I am looking forward to the challenge ahead. There is a massive challenge in the ride itself but also in getting the whole event prepared properly! Follow all of the developments here and sign up to the site to post any comments - Encouragement please!!!