The first podcast...

To play, please click on the white triangle, top left...

...and the first video

What happened to January? Terrified that the month would end without my inaugural training ride, I togged up and headed out into the Warwickshire countryside...

After an epic pedal-athon (OK - thirteen miles) I reached Stratford-upon-Avon, where I recorded this mini-video.

Sorry about the dodgy sound quality - and for the obvious fact that it's addressed to the project's Facebook followers.

Thanks to the terrific efforts of my friends at Falcon Camps, my JustGiving site is now up and active. Hurrah!

You're welcome to check it out via this link - or via the link to the right.

After appropriate refreshment, I pondered the possibility of returning home on the train. But, dismissing such craven thoughts, I tootled home, notching up a well-meaning (but weedy) 26.5 miles.

Four months to go to June 1 - and the start of the ride.

Only four? Surely some mistake?

Hello - and welcome!

Thank you for clicking on to the first post on the 'blog' for my big bike-ride project for 2010. Welcome!

What's it all about?
I (that's Rory Keegan) plan to spend June 2010 cycling from St Just (way down in Cornwall) all the way to the magnificent cathedral of St Magnus in Kirkwall, Orkney.

Shortly after leaving St Just I shall check in at the slightly better-known location of Lands End.

And the day before reaching St Magnus, I hope to be huffing and puffing my way in to John o'Groats at the top right-hand corner of Scotland.

Why?
One asks oneself the same question. But I guess there are two main reasons:

• I'm going to be sixty in July 2010 - and I've been told that cycling beats Botox hands-down
  
• I'd like to raise funds for Falcon Camps, fun-filled holidays for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
  

When?
I'll be leaving St Just on Tuesday 1 June. All being well I'll arrive at St Magnus on Thursday 24 June.

How?
Pedal-power all the way. My training starts 1 January under the merciless supervision of inspirational coach and fundraising guru Mr Gnome (above foreground, in case you wondered).

Would you like to be involved?
You would? Hurrah!

This blog will feature the highs, lows and inevitable dramas of my journey towards the pinnacle of physical and mental fitness required to cycle from teashop to cafe to teashop over the course of 24 gruelling summer days.

And I'll be blogging throughout the ride.

Supporting the project
Thanks to the wonderful people who oversee the work of Falcon Camps there will shortly be a link from this blog to a dedicated JustGiving site, where it will be possible to donate online.

So here we go. No turning back. More news soon - and a very Happy Christmas to you!