It's been a year of challenges and change for Donna Gauthier first she lost 50lbs at a fitness camp and now she is about to cycle almost 1,500 miles in the Tour de Thailand.

The Tour, which began seven years ago, lasts from December 8 to January 3 and a requirement is to raise funds for Thai charities, and this year the beneficiaries are Operation Smile Thailand and Thailand Foundation for the Blind.

Ms Gauthier, founder of www.e-Moo.com, is hoping to raise $3,000, or about 100,000 Thai Baht. In previous years cyclists have raised more than five million baht for charities.

She heard about the Tour de Thailand from a friend Michael Purser who she met in March at a fitness camp in Marina Del Rey, California.

"He is a fellow American who lives in Thailand for part of the year and who has done this Tour and a couple of others," she said.

"He encouraged me to join him, but it turns out due to a family medical crisis he'll not make it, so I'll be going on my own, joining about 40 to 50 other cyclists.

"I decided to do this tour for a few reasons, as a challenge to myself, to help raise funds for the Thailand charities, and to see a lot of a beautiful country. It's something I want to do, not because I have to do it."

Ms Gauthier has been enjoying a 'year of retirement' and will be rejoining the workforce next year, as she sold E-Moo earlier this year.

During the year she has found new energy from a new lifestyle she achieved at a fitness camp in Marina Del Rey where she stayed for 12 weeks between March and May.

"I lost 50lbs, over 65 inches, and four dress sizes and significantly improved my fitness and endurance levels," she said.

"I feel great! The fitness camp, called Live In Fitness Enterprise was sort of like a Biggest Loser camp, except that I paid them to torture me, rather than me winning any money.

"We worked out four to six hours a day, indoors and outdoors. There was almost nothing that I didn't do weight training, cardio equipment, treadmills, elliptical, boxing, sand dune climbing, which was hell on earth, beach volleyball, beach boot camps, stair-climbing, kayaking, and personal training.

"This is where I renewed my love for cycling." Before March, she said she hadn't cycled for over 20 years.

"I also started swimming regularly. I can easily swim a mile in under an hour and I even got up the nerve to jog a little bit."

She blogged her 83-day experience and it can either be viewed in her Facebook notes or by visiting http://blogspot.bodacious0.com.

For the last six months she has continued with her training and is doing some form of cardio training everyday to prepare for the Tour de Thailand.

"I did that all summer to maintain my weight loss 'cause I still don't have the best eating habits; I am from New Orleans, after all.

"Even when I returned to Bermuda twice this past summer, I climbed the lighthouse steps several times an hour or walked along the beaches or went to one of the gyms. Also throughout the summer I've been cycling whenever possible.

"Since mid-October I've been staying with family in New Orleans, where it's warmer, and I've been cycling almost daily in addition to getting personal training sessions, swimming, taking a few workout classes, and working out on my own at a local athletic club. I've made working out my full-time job."

Along with Ms Gauthier there are up to 50 riders on the 1,438 mile Tour, which starts in Chiang Mai and ends in Phuket. It is broken into two, two-week rides, on the northern and southern side of Thailand.

"I'm choosing to do all four weeks, or 27 days, to be exact," she said.

"On December 18, from Ayutthaya to Bangkok, which is 56 miles, The Foundation for the Blind and cycling clubs from Bangkok and other surrounding areas will come out and join us as we ride around the temples of Ayutthaya and head south to Bangkok.

"I can barely cycle with all my capacities so to be riding with seeing-impaired cyclists will no doubt be inspirational to all.

"I decided to do a tour of Thailand in this manner so that I can not only see a huge portion of Thailand but also see it in a manner that helps me continue my fitness goals."

Ms Gauthier added: "We will ride about three or four days at a time and then take a day off. The rides are anywhere from 47 to 90 miles a day.

"I'm not very fast, but I do have good endurance. I can't believe the start of the tour is so near! I am confident that I will be able to complete the entire 1,438 miles. I'll be at the back of the pack, no doubt, but I'm determined to stay on that bike!

"I can't wait to not only get started on the tour to see Thailand, but to also take photos, meet new people, make new friends, and write about it, hopefully in a daily blog."

To donate: Operation Smile Thailand donor page is http://support.operationsmile.org/goto/donnagauthierthailand.

The Foundation for the Blind in Thailand does not have a donor page, thus if you'd like to contribute to that, you may mail a cheque to her at 514 Artemis Drive, San Antonio, TX 78218, USA, before November 29.

For Bermuda donations contact Ms Gauthier at donnapgauthier@gmail.com with Thailand Bike Tour in the subject line.

The 27-day itinerary can be viewed at: http://www.tourdethailand.com/tour-de-thailand-itinerary.html.