FOUR friends in their 60s and 70s will be cycling alongside former England football stars like Les Ferdinand, Terry Butcher and Viv Anderson in a charity bike ride to Holland.

The Forest quartet are taking part in the 150-mile Football to Amsterdam ride on June 9-11 in aid of Prostate Cancer UK, and are warming up with a fundraising ceilidh and barn dance this Saturday (May 13) in Broadwell.

Joining John French from Brockweir, Dave Morris from Cole­ford, Bill Otto from Parkend and Dave Wright from Bream in the saddle will be John’s son Ashley and several of his friends in a 13-strong team.

Retired Lakers teacher John, 71, who lives with prostate cancer, said: “We’re stepping up the training now and hope to do a 50-60 mile ride in the next few days.

“Our squad is called Team Arsenal after mine and my son’s favourite team, and as a football fan I’m really excited about riding alongside all the star players, including former Gunners star Alan Smith.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting Alan after seeing him give a talk at the Hay Festival a few years ago.”

Other footballers who will be joining around 500 fans on the ride include former Fulham and Portsmouth player Sean Davis and Preston manager Simon Grayson.

“The idea came from my eldest son, Ashley, who, in spite of having had life changing surgery for ulcerative colitis only a few months previously rode the same charity ride last year as I had been diagnosed with prostate cancer a few years earlier,” added John. 

After his ride, Ashley said “You’re going to do this with me next year Dad.” There was no option to say no.

“Since than we have both been training, with Ashley regularly clocking up 200 hundred miles a week. When three of my close friends heard about the ride, they decided to join me and Ashley and his friends, and we have been training together for the last three months.”

Dave Wright added: “We haven’t yet ridden more than 42 miles during training, but we’re reasonably confident we’ll finish the ride, though whether we’ll be in a fit state to enjoy the delights of Amsterdam is another matter.”

The ride starts from the Olympic Velodrome in London, with cyclists crossing by ferry from Harwich to Holland.

To help the Forest quartet towards raising their £4,000 target, the Packhorse Band are holding a ceilidh and barn dance in Evergreen Hall, Broadwell, this Saturday at 7pm. All profits from tickets and the bar will go to Prostate Cancer UK.

All four riders have fundraising pages at www.justgiving.com while ceilidh tickets can be bought on the door or from John French on 07771 988542 and via [email protected]