Apologies in advance for a long thread.

My brother and I both served in the forces; him in Bosnia/Kosovo, me in Iraq. Both of us have suffered from PTSD and depression and have needed help. For me it came to a head last summer – 5 and a half years after I got back. I'd already been treated for PTSD because of nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety relating to the combat experiences, but things started getting worse. I was a Captain with 150 soldiers and officers to look after and, despite numerous injuries and wounds, I brought them all back alive. Despite the old cliche, I was the first to step off the plane, and last to walk up the ramp of the Hercules 7 months later. Since then, two of my guys have committed suicide because of their experiences (one on xmas day 2008), one friend killed (hit in the face with an RPG in Afghanistan), two friends in the same roadside IED in Afghanistan, one in a plane crash and one in an RTA. I had left the forces and started feeling guilty that my soldiers and friends were dying around me, but I was not doing my bit and not there to help them. Also, the PTSD symptoms were returning with a vengance. 14 June this year, I lost it, kissed the children goodbye and walked out of the house with a rope and a gun with the aim of ending it all.

Before I could go through with it, the police arrived in force with the helicopter, dog team and two armed response teams. After a brief standoff (I had no intention of hurting anyone else, just myself) I was arrested and sectioned. I have been undergoing treatment since that night and am making improvements, I have returned to work and just have the Crown Court case for the firearms offence to deal with starting in January. Psychiatric reports, police statements (all in my support) and character references should mean a good chance of aquittal, but there remains a risk of conviction.

Now to the point of the thread – The NHS have little resources to help people like me. Combat Stress is a charity formed in 1919 looking after war veterans, with 3 hospitals around the UK, and they have been wonderful in helping me. After my court case is over, I am due to be admitted for a while, but this costs Combat Stress £2100 each week. I'm determined that I pay my way and that I pay for a few more like me to have a stay too. I'm aiming to raise £21k, which will pay for me and nine others. What I can't raise in a year, I'll pay out of my own money.

In the spring, my brother and I will be running from Cheltenham war memorial to the cenotaph in London (120 miles, 2 days, as much cross country as possible). This is just the warmup though.

In the summer, I'm planning to cycle John O'Groats to Land's End, solo, unsupported and within 3 days. The route I have selected is a bit scenic, so at 960 miles I should be doing 320 per day. I'll carry all I need, but am only planning to stop for 20 minutes every 8 hours and fight through in one go.

Despite going solo, I'd appreciate riding buddies for short stretches along the way (will conserve my ipod battery if I can talk to someone) and will publish the route if anyone fancies meeting up on the road?

What I'm asking for here is advice and tips, both for the ride and how I can maximise fundraising. Many of you must have done rides for charity and will know the most effective ways of raising corporate sponsorship, online fundraising, sponsor forms, publicity etc. Let me know what I should be doing to maximise the return and make it worthwhile for such a good cause.

wow a lot to deal with. sorry no advice, but best of luck. Do let me know the route and I will try to join you for bits if it's near me.

have sent link to a friend who did LEJOG this year, hopefully get some tips for you. pretty sure if you publish route you will get company on the way. good luck fella,

If not fit enough to ride along with you i'm sure we can all get together to provide food/drink stops for you.

Would be quite nice actually, waiting at the roadside with a canteen of hot food for a bunch of two-wheeled enduro-freaks to arrive!

Great idea, Muddydwarf, great idea! I'm nowhere near the route, though!

Bonne chance!

Thanks all so far. The odd cup of tea with 3 sugars would be very welcome.

I reckon you need to get your route up somewhere so we can all see it, and MAKE BLOODY SURE everyone knows when you'll be riding. I reckon you could well get a lot of help and support from STW.

Apart from that, chapeau!

Post up a route and a justgiving link! and good luck to you.

Have you thought about getting your story into a national paper? Supporting our troops is a 'hot' topic in the media at the moment. Look for who is writing articles on supporting our troops etc and target them. Got a Facebook Group yet?

Set up a facebook page, get it linked to as often as possible, get an online donation page setup – justgiving as previously mentioned. write to the sun/star etc – they are good supporters of the forces and might give you publicity if not actual sponsorship.

post the dates/routes etc asap so folk can start planning.

Good Luck

Go to the CTC LEJOG Forum for all the advice on the trip http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewforum.php?f=22&sid=b2f884bf742a98d0c9c80bd4afbcf97b Plenty of people there with experience of the route.

As for advice on fundraising, I can't help I'm afraid.

Shit Dan – I wished I'd known!!!

get in touch mate – no promises but I MAY be able to help with some practical support on the ride (depending on what my guys are up to and when it is)

You know where I am if you want to share a pint with a shiney-arse!

"solo, unsupported and within 3 days. The route I have selected is a bit scenic, so at 960 miles I should be doing 320 per day"

Is that possible? Maybe you're ex-RowCo!
I'd have said a support team is necessary.

As above, get the route posted up and you'll get guys and gals turning out for you. Mind you, going on the pi££ in N Germany / BAOR every alternative tour in my case is not quite what you've been through. Perhaps my liver might want to argue the toss on that though!

I'm sure it's possible – record is 44 hours and 3 days would average less than 14mph. What I lack in strength and skill I'll make up for with grit and determination. There are serving and ex-soldiers with horrific injuries who are tougher than that and I'm determined not to let them down. I'll soon find out when I give it a try.

Will def get the route up when confirmed. Am waiting for all the advice on route to come in first (what to avoid, where to definitely include, who's going to offer a cup of tea etc.) No confirmed dates yet, but am aiming for June, possibly 19/20/21st as the long daylight will reduce the number of lights batteries I will need to carry.

get the route up.
I'd love to come over and ride with you for a hundred or so.
good on you mate

It's a Hell of a pace and distance.
14mph is I think, a the pace of the slow group on a 3hr club road ride.
Never mind the 3 days of kit you'll be humping.
12mph is the average speed of a top flight XC racer on something like the Montane Kielder 100.
You'd need to be in the form of your life.

Let us know and at the same time, see if you can't get many of the other cycling forums involved in some way, of course this one is mostly off-road mountain bike orientated so many will struggle to keep up with you if you've got up a head of steam on a road bike!

When exactly are you doing it? Me and Trail_Rat are planning a similar venture for September.

Ah – I see the dates now. I'll come out and give you a tow for a few miles.

I'll be up for a support ride for a few miles also.

Best of luck.

Get the press on board, especially the tabloids as that are really keen on supporting the Forces. Approach your local BBC news desk and ask them about how they do 'interest' pieces.

Live tracking through a website is good too, our directors did it on their Red Grade Challenege.

Be proud to ride with you for a stage/leg.

I wish you luck in both these endeavours but would ask if you think the pressure your putting on yourself is potentially going to give you more problems. Are you really ready to deal with failure which could come even with the very best preparation and training. There will be so many things out of your control which may affect the outcome. What I'm trying to say is that I worry that you might blame yourself if some external factor over which you have no control were to cause you to have to abandon either undertaking. Only you know the answer to that but maybe the people helping you may also be able to talk it through with you. Whatever you do I wish you the best of luck with rebuilding your life but please don't feel that it's your responsibility to try to sort out the problems of other servicemen Its not it,s all of ours. I'm sorry if this sounds negative as I don't mean it to be I just feel you must first look after yourself and your family before you take on responsibility for those that the rest of us have let down.

Suggestions:

1. Let us know where we can donate. We can start donating now to get you started.

2. Take longer to do the ride. Doing it in 3 days would be a great achievement, but why not take longer and schedule some publicity stops in major towns? That way I'm sure you'd raise more money. A slower pace would also mean some more company riding alongside you 🙂

Best of luck.

+1 for donation link

Best of luck fella

I'll ride with you for some of it. Let me know your route and if my chemo has finished by then I'd be honoured to assist.

better get the police and AA warned in advance. If Dan and Petesgaff are both out together there'll be at least another 500 riders wanting to support them together.

Feeling humbled. Again.

Plot route and add staged support in there, it should save what you need to carry on the way (and you will get help form this site no doubt!) also, don't forget any tri service papers/defence journals, Army Cycling Union,RAF Cycling, or RN cycling website.

No easy answer dang. Use this site and the rest of t'internet to get as much publicity as possible, and sell sell sell to businesses. Write to CEO's of all the major defence contractors and follow it up with phone calls. Your story will also strike a chord with Daily Mail/Telegraph/Times/Sun readership, so ring them and talk to a journo. Work every contact you have ever had, a lot of ex officers must have reasonable management jobs… And let me what I can do to help.

Dan,

First, I think you should consider doing it over a longer period. There's a lot of love around for servicemen and women so the cause will attract plenty of help and sponsorship, not the difficulty-factor. If you plan and execute a more conservative challenge in 2010 you can come back in 2011 and do another ride. If you plan something nuts for 2010 and crash and burn, you ain't no use to anyone. Sometimes you kind of have to tread water a bit in order to ultimately go forward (hope that makes sense).

Second, SORT OUT YOUR HYDRATION! I can't stress it enough. At the rate you will be working you will have to replace at least 1 litre per hour. You also need to think about replacing electrolytes. Matt Hart at Torq may be the man to speak to about this.

Third, get the route and a just giving link up pronto.

Good luck!

Keep us posted
x

What avdave and epicyclo says.

You may get some corporate sponsor who will want you to detour to his head office for a photo/news/newspaper press do. Seen that a few times this year in town with the likes of police, firemen and other charity rides. Choosing to visit the hospitals you mention and giving them some press coverage would do for starters.

Local tv stations seem to provide good coverage

Make it an enjoyable, achievable epic rather than something personal.

Do a google for local bike clubs on your route and post on them.

I will be on holiday in June or would have joined you for a bit, probably not be able to keep up with you anyway 🙁

I did a 2 day mtb ride for MS a few years ago in the Lakes, 150mls, and had a great time. Took and got loads of pictures and made up a bit of a story, Got local press to do a story thanking all sponsors and presenting cheque to MS rep etc.

Good luck and have FUN doing it.

Thanks for all the messages of support and advice so far. The main points from this thread and from others I have spoken to are:-

* Add a day or two to the schedule.
* Add a few towns for publicity and fundraising opportunities.
* Press coverage (got a mate who's a reporter with the BBC, so will tap him up for contacts).
* Corporate contacts – will start approaching when the route/dates/plan have firmed up more.
* Get the justgiving page up asap (will do v.soon).
* Live tracking sounds ace – also good for any of you wanting to tag along to see when and where to get on your bikes!
* Arrange support (would rather staged than continuous, as I still want long stretches alone with time to reflect)

avdave2, points all taken, but this is actually part of my treatment. The psychiatric team looking after me all say that helping others in a similar predicament has proven benefits in accepting and overcoming my own. Besides, I can be a tough, determined b@stard when I want to be – the exertion levels will be similar to the Cambrian Patrol, and I did that 4 years running. Adding a day or two will reduce the chance of failure, but still be a decent challenge.

good luck with the court case, have the police or your defence given you any vibes? Such firearms offences carry a statutory 5 year minimum sentence on conviction which wouldnt leave the sentencing judge much room if you were found guilty. Although in the below case he stated the exceptional circumstances allowed him to avoid the guidelines

http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2009-09-04-Jail-for-son-who-gave-father-suicide-gun

Whether a jury of 12 would convict you given the circumstances you describe is a different matter.

Agree with other posters that making it longer gives more time to raise money, and look at the level of exposure Help For Heroes has right now. If you are acquitted, the case itself would kickstart a lot of publicity for your cause.

Good luck, though I'd agree with the folk who suggested giving yourself an extra couple of day, particularly if the main aim is to raise money/awareness.

Make sure you post something when you know the exact route, and if you need any advice about roads in Scotland you only have to ask.

There does seem to be a real sense of the country really being behind the forces at the moment, even more so than usual. Even the folk who don't agree with the politics of Iraq or Afghanistan seem to really appreciate the conditions the troops are working in and the job they are doing. Makes quite a change from the grubby, greedy world MPs inhabit.

Good luck for 2010, both on and off the bike.

I'm fairly confident about the court case – it starts in Barry Magistrates Court, 10:00 on Wednesday 23rd December. This is purely to send the case to the Crown Court (have been led to believe it will go to Merthyr), planned for the first week of January.

The key to my defence hinges on the charge of firearm possession with intent to cause attending police officers to believe that violence will be used against them or others. My psychiatric report states in at least 5 places that I had no intent to cause anyone else any harm or distress and that I acted impulsively with no planning and in a state of mind unable to make clear decisions. The CPS admit to not having read the report, as they state that they want a court to decide whether to convict or acquit. If the intent bit can be disproved, then the court will have to acquit the whole charge.

On Wednesday, my solicitor will receive the prosecution pack, including the firearm team individual statements. A little bird tells me these are all supportive of my predicament and none felt for their own safety. This is reflected in the fact that they didn't point their guns at me, just taser.

Will have to wait and see how it goes. If it all goes horribly wrong, I'll have 5 years for the fundraising!

Good luck fella, when you thinking on doing the ride

Firstly, all the best with the case and your ongoing treatment.

Like many others have said, taking longer and concentrating on the PR side of things will maximise the returns (both financial and in terms of public awareness).

I'd be more than happy to ride alongside, provide food, drinks, whatever as part of any rolling support team. Email in profile.

All the best to you and your brother.

Another little point.

Know where your bikes shops are en route, give a few of them the story and ask for some assistance in case of emergency. I know Biketreks did that for a woman doing the same challenge a few years ago.

Wow, that is one hell of a humbling post. I wish you all the best with the trial and your treatment.

If you can get a link for donations (I guess "justgiving.com"?) I will post it at work as there are quite a few people there keen on supporting the forces 😉

I would go for a slightly slower LEJOG and get a couple of publicity stops along the way (arranged with local press / BBC / ITV local) would maximise the £££ and awareness raised.

Keep us informed and I am sure we can all help raise money for this important work.

Alex

Right, I'm setting up the justgiving website. Think of a catchy name for my page!

Answers on a postcard asap please.

Captain Danny's solo LEJOG

Keep us posted and good luck.

Plan the route to pass by Bristo Abbey Wood (easy enough over the bridge and down the A38) and we'll arrange a welcoming cttee.