Find out about Phil Gudgeon's Extra Mile Challenge training here...  

“Going the extra mile” is a well-known business expression. We all understand that it means ‘going above and beyond’ what is strictly necessary or making an extra effort to do something for someone else, which might perhaps be at some personal cost to yourself.

I just thought I’d mention this in case anyone thinks that my taking part in the Extra Mile Challenge isn’t at ‘some personal cost’ after I had a nasty crash in training last week. This photo shows you just one of the smaller areas of my body that was abraded by the road surface, after I looked up to watch an Air Ambulance, and promptly crashed into the road curb. Yes, I know it’s ironic.

As this ride is for charity, I might perhaps consider showing you the worst affected area, my gluteus maximus, if the donation to our chosen charities is big enough!  Here's the link to our fund raising page:

But seriously, it’s a real pleasure to take part in the Extra Mile Challenge because I love cycling, enjoy the camaraderie and team work on the tour, and really care about our chosen charities, Ride High and CHUMS. The whole experience encapsulates all the values of the Cawleys company mission, and that’s important to me too.

I hope you’ll join me in raising money for our charities, and cycling round the Loire Valley in France.  We’ll be wearing a Go Pro camera so you can literally watch us on tour this year. It should make for compelling viewing as we’ll be cycling up to 2000 ft above sea level toward the Massif Central, with some incredibly steep roads to contend with.  Trust me, I will be keeping my eye on those curb sides…