To celebrate 25 years of a small Welsh charity, that gives free legal advice to people in debt, I will be cycling 250 miles very soon from Cardiff to Aberystwyth and back.
I have worked for the Speakeasy for 19 years and seen how a few advisers can impact on the lives of thousands of people when they don't know where to turn for money to pay bills, to put on the heating, to buy food. We see more than 2,000 people each year, from those who need a little advice to help them resolve their own difficulties, to people facing eviction, prosecution, seizure of goods or who feel they are sinking under the weight of huge debts.
I don't see many clients myself now, but I am incredibly proud of the work that my colleagues do and I want to celebrate that and support the ongoing work, which this year, as most years, faces a real challenge for funding.
I am feeling older and less fit than for previous rides, but I am still looking forward to cycling the 250 miles or so over 4 days, skirting the Black Mountains (East) going through the Cambrian Mountains, then returning by the Black Mountains (West). The road should be both spectacular and challenging.
