An intrepid group of Gloucestershire friends will set out on a cycling adventure on 22 June to support the Cheltenham-based medical charity Cobalt.

Over six days Giles Granger, Andy Wallace, Sam Grimshaw, Ben Lilly and Noel Lewis will cycle over 230 miles climbing the equivalent of Everest while crossing three national parks.

The group's friend Allen Wallace will be their trusted driver for the journey, starting from the Lake District at Ravenglass, crossing the Yorkshire Dales and finishing at Ravenscar after conquering the North York Moors.

More than 75 per cent of the ride will be off road, climbing 27,000 feet. More information on the route can be found on pedalnorth.com.

Giles Granger, owner at Terrascapes, Landscape and groundworks specialists in Stroud said "Cancer or dementia has touched us all at some point or another and we now just want to give something back to raise vital funds for Cobalt. We're training every week so we're ready to take on the challenge."

Andy Wallace whose sister is currently receiving treatment for cancer said "My wife and I both have friends and family members who we have lost or are currently undergoing treatment for these diseases. I thought this challenge was a way for me to show how much I care and hopefully, the money raised will help other families in the future".

Cobalt is an important centre for cancer research and is currently contributing PET/CT imaging services for 12 different oncology studies, including several national and international projects. These cover areas such as Lymphoma, Oesophageal cancer, Myeloma and Lung cancer.

Many of these projects are involved in studying the effects of current treatments for cancer or establishing the efficacy of new and novel cancer drug treatments. All have the potential to make effective contributions in providing measurable differences in the management and treatment of these illnesses which could in turn provide real benefits to patients both in the short and long term.

In addition to other oncology based projects Cobalt fund a specialist nursing post for Teenagers and Young Adults with cancer. Megan Willsher Cobalt's TYA Nurse, provides specialist support for these patients.

Cobalt are also very active participants in dementia diagnosis and research and organise an annual Dementia conference with worldwide experts in the field.

Funds raised will help the charity purchase a new MRI scanner for the Cobalt Imaging Centre in Cheltenham.

Kirsty Bradbury, fundraising engagement officer at Cobalt said "What Giles and the team are doing is just fantastic. Challenge events are a great way to raise money for us as well as drawing attention to the work we do".

To support the cyclists go to Muddy Funkers 

To find out more about Cobalt, the work they do go to www.cobalthealth.co.uk 

Pictured top: Muddy Funkers Giles Granger, Andy Wallace, Sam Grimshaw and Ben Lilly. Picture below: The muddy Funkers with driver Allen Wallace