Hello, Salaams, NiHao & Namaste from Singapore!
Hey guys, thanks for visiting my fundraising page as I really hope you'll be able to make a donation to help the disaster hit communities of Lombok from last year’s earthquake there.

The Challenge
I have been selected by Prudential Corporate Asia to complete the PruRideLondon 2019, a Century Charity Ride on Sun 4th Aug 2019, literally a year on from the devastation of the earthquake.

How long is a Century Ride?
The answer is simply a very long bicycle ride. But if you like numbers then that amounts to 100 miles, but you already knew that. As for the metric die-hards amongst you, that translates to precisely 160.934 km!

The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 will see riders cycle through London, starting from the Olympic Park in Stratford and into the Surrey countryside, before finishing on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace. A refreshing brew and some scones with The Queen would be nice after the race but I don't think that comes as part of the package!

Do you actually know how to ride a bike?
A good and an important question! Yes, but I’ve only ever ridden a bicycle a couple of times since well err when I was in my pre-teens, which was a long time ago in the last millennium. So you could say it’s a bit of a challenge for me! To make it more of a challenge I don't even have a 'real' road bicycle to ride on yet. Apparently, so I've been told, a 'real' road bike has curved handlebars and mine only has straight bars (sigh!). Also, there are also these technical things in the bike world call clipless pedals which you actually have to clip into (don't ask!) so there's a lot of new geeky bikey knowledge to comprehend.

How will you prepare for the race?

Training will involve gym work during weekdays sandwiched with long bicycle rides on weekends to build up the endurance. Being outdoors for a long period under the sun in tropical Singapore is not a pleasant experience so it will mean giving up lie-ins at the weekend to get up well before dawn to be out on the open road in the quiet darkness!

You sure your rear end will be able to cope?
Hmmm, another good question. Currently leading an LA (lard arse) lifestyle so my rear end is usually accustomed to a comfy leather sofa! The thought of it being subjected to hours on end resting on a razor thin saddle whilst the legs pedal away does terrify me somewhat. If I'm walking around like a penguin after the training and the race you'll know why! By the way, I do appreciate your concern for my rear end, but bit of a cheeky question if you ask me!

Sorry, why are you doing this, again?
Pay attention, I’m raising money for charity. Also, late last year, no thanks to perpetual chocolate and biscuit binging, my health check reported that I was 16kg over my ideal weight. So for a start there is some serious weight shredding to do on my part and I'm hoping the training will get me back to into shape. Thinning on top came naturally but thinning around the waistline takes serious effort!

And if you’re expecting me to shave my legs for that weight-saving aerodynamic go-faster pro-cyclist look, then I’m sorry to tell you it’s not going to happen! Well, let's see if you can persuade me otherwise, I have to warn you though, it will take a 'handsome' donation, and remember, hair is a privilege to a guy like me so no low-ballers please!

Tell us a bit more about the charity?
Prudential is supporting the longer-term recovery efforts of two villages in Lombok hit by the terrible earthquake in August last year. The Prudence Foundation, Prudential Indonesia and Prudential’s head office are providing financial support to build 102 temporary homes, two kindergartens, two prayer rooms and a basketball court. Working with Prudential, Posko Jenggala builds on those efforts to provide aid to the affected region.
http://www.posko-jenggala.org/site/index

Please help me reach towards my target as I know it will make a tremendous difference to those affected communities in Lombok.