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This time next week we will be pedalling north from Reykjavik – assuming Eyjafjallajökull, or the more pronounceable Hekla, or any of the other volcanoes don’t throw a billion tonnes of ash into any airspace.

I have been obsessively weighing every single item I am taking with me, yes even my underpants. I’ve sold my remaining kidney to buy an ultra-lightweight sleeping bag and other less important body parts to buy lightweight tee-shirts and other bits and pieces. All a bit pointless given that I am the best part of thirteen stone and build like a track sprinter rather than a long distance cycling; having said that I have reduced my luggage weight by about half a stone which is much easier than giving up donuts. I am sure my long suffering wife will be relieved to not find me in the kitchen weight different type of toothbrushes…

Aside from my OCD moments I am really looking forward to it. Apart from the wind, ice and fire, Iceland does have some amazing scenery. We have the midnight sun to look forward too (sunset at 00:30, sunrise at 01:30), volcanoes, waterfalls, some stunning coastline and lots of sheep…

Our route is planning in 500m sections – our longest day is 99.6 miles and our most mountainous has around 6,000ft of climbing. Depending on weather, us, wind direction, road surface, etc. it should take us between 11 and 15 days of pedalling. The weather is still trying to frighten us off – freezing conditions with sleet then few days later around 20 centigrade with clear blue skys.

Anyhow, wish us luck, give us cash (donate to Reach that is) and please come along to dinner on the 16th July – click here to invite yourself or here to donate.

I know I have been a little blog-lazy but I have been very busy. It is the busiest time of year for Oxford Science Studies, which is good for business and good for Reach – we are close to £5,000 now – most of the recent donations have come via OXSS customers. So an enormous THANK YOU to them – I have frequently been stunned by their generosity.

In other news I have been out on my bike just about enough – getting a good few hours in a week. My physiotherapist has been tweaking my knees which are now running smoothly. We’ve bought a few more bits of kit – tiny expedition stove, titanium saucepan, a truly waterproof/breathable jacket, a Brook’s saddle, etc. I think we are very nearly kitted out.

I have also had possibly my weirdest bike ride, it rained, hailed, sleeted and snow all within the space of about 15 mins. And I nearly crashed into a male peacock doing his “look at me, I’m fantastic” display in the middle of the road, I thought he’d move… Then about a mile down the road there was another one. Why peacocks like to stand in the middle of the road, in the rain and display I will never know.

These last couple of months have been very busy for me. Busy time at work – both good and bad for Reach. Good in that we have raised over £1,000 from our customers – we ask them to donate and then match the donation. Bad in that I haven’t got out on my bike much. To add to all that I have had an annoying cold (rivers of snot and continuous sneezing) and the weather hasn’t been ideal cycling weather – all in all had about a month of my bike. Incidentally in Iceland when it snows the roads are either shut (in the mountains) or perfectly clear, some of the pavement are geothermally heated so ice melts.

We have also had more luck in terms of getting some of the stuff we need at a substantially reduced cost. Icelandair are helping us out cheap air fairs and excess luggage (i.e. 2 bikes). The lovely people at cyclesense sold us two Extra wheel trailers for a very reduced price.

Also I really want to take this opportunity to thank all Oxford Science Studies customers who donated and, of course, OXSS themselves for matching the donations.

Things are going well. The fund raising is beginning to build up some momentum – we have banked nearly £500 and have about another £300 in the pipeline – so we are well on our way to our first £1,000.

Training is also going well – averaging just over 8 hours a week at the moment. Clocked up over 700 miles in the last 6 weeks and burnt 27,402 calories! I’ve also climbed 33,000 feet (Everest + Ben Nevis + Snowdon). In spite of the surprisingly nice weather I have managed about 150 mile in the rain.

We had a good day at the Bike Show at Earl’s court. Trying to get some cheap kit and some freebies, also managed to get the blessing of the god cycling – “Good Luck” from Eddie Merckx (if you don’t know who he is Merckx is to Cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing).

Having decide to cycle around Iceland to raise money for charity we had to think a bit about the reality of actually doing it….

I’ve been to Iceland twice before, so I have some idea of what I have let myself in for, well half an idea. My experience of the Icelandic summer is warm and windy, very windy. My winter experience was something else – the coldest November day on record. Minus twelve degrees centigrade in Reykjavik and a bewildering minus thirty something with wind chill up in the mountains. See the above picture for what I look like at minus thirty something.

I’ve also done charity rides before, even things as ambitious as overland to Africa (across France, Spain and to Morocco), but that was over twenty years ago. At 44, and about a stone heavier, and not so fit, I am taking on a much harsher challenge.

So all I have to do is to get fitter and lose a bit of weight – how hard can it be? Well, my plan is to up my exercise from about 3 to 4 hours a week to at least 7 hours a week, then to about 12. Also I have to become a foul-weather cyclist, I’ve never ridden for half a day in the cold wet and wind, I have to get used to this…. Also I need to do a good few 5 to 7 hour rides at least a few times before we go.

And also, of course, we need to put some serious effort into get some cash! I am delighted that we have already raised £150 and we haven't started bugging people for money yet..