EVER fancied cycling 100 miles in a day? – that's roughly the equivalent of Lydney to London! Well a band of intrepid Forest of Dean based cyclists are set to do that from June 25th – and more, as they take on the mighty French Pyrenees on their 'Tour Midi-Libre' a five day, 450 mile trek that will see them tackle climbs of around 7,000ft and ride up to 120 miles a day.

The group of 25, who go under the banner of Glos Velo, are mainly riding for fun but one rider, former Cinderford rugby player Paul Weaver, is using the challenge to raise funds for the James Hopkins Trust – a charity that provides respite and care to severely disabled and life limited youngsters.

Paul initially went along on a training ride with the group, who have been arranging cycling trips to France for many years, to see how they organised their tour and get some ideas for setting up a charity event of his own, but he quickly decided that he could accomplish his aims by joining them on their tour to the Pyrenees.

The driving force behind Glos Velo is Cinderford man Ken Phelps. His boundless enthusiasm for cycling has attracted many converts to the sport over the last 15 years and he is keen to explain about the group.

"We are not an affiliated cycling club, although with current numbers that may eventually happen. Our year is focussed on a single trip or tour and we have a series of evening and weekend training rides to prepare for that trip," he said.

"The whole exercise is for enjoyment – though not without an element of challenge – but well within the capabilities of most people, experienced cyclists or not, with a little preparation.

"The original concept was designed to attract those who had never ridden seriously before, and to provide cyclists with an opportunity to ride through beautiful countryside with open traffic-free roads that are difficult to find in England – and that still applies."

The group has grown from modest beginnings in the late 1980s when five or six people would cover 20 or 30 miles a day with accommodation under canvas and meals prepared on cooking stoves. The early trips were also timed to coincide with the finish of the Tour de France and a day in Paris to watch the riders finish. With the number of riders growing year-on-year and the daily mileage creeping up the group now use Formule 1 motels for their stopovers and even take their own support team to provide drinks and sustenance en-route.

"We are a mixed bunch," says Ken. "We have some guys who are strong cyclists and members of The Forest of Dean and Ross Cycling clubs through to blokes who have jumped on a bike for the first time since their paper round as kids and an age range from teenagers to 50-year-olds.

"The group obviously tends to break up a bit during the day as the quicker boys get a head of steam up near the end of a ride but no one is ever left behind – it's one of the few rules we have."

Although most riders are local, Glos Velo has members who come from as far as Kent and Cheshire to join them – there is even one in Brisbane, Australia. Needless to say he trains on his own.

The destination of the tour is decided at a winter meeting but it's Ken who organises the whole thing – and that is no mean feat with accommodation and travel arrangements for 25 riders and bikes plus the support team and vehicle.

This often involves a trip along the planned route to check arrangements and logistics.

The preparation has been a little more intense this year due to the terrain the group are set to cover and the weekly 30 mile Thursday night training rides from Littledean Guest House layby have been well attended. These have been supplemented by slightly longer runs on a Sunday and just last week they did a 75 mile circuit over the Severn Bridge starting from the Rising Sun at Moseley Green – although this was the longest of the preparation ride outs.

"We've had plenty of guests join us on our training rides who are not coming to France and they are always made welcome. People have been using it as training for other sports or just as a bit of exercise and the pace is adjusted to accommodate them – and we are always keen to encourage more." says Ken.

Interest in the 'Midi-Libre Tour' – named after a cycling race in the area they are visiting – has been such that the group have even produced club cycling shirts, with a little help from some local businesses and should at least look the part when they arrive in France.

"Although we have trained hard," says Ken, "we won't lose sight of the reason we are going – it's not a race. Its about the spirit of the group and the pleasure (and pain) of long distance cycling. It's also a great opportunity to take in some of the best sights France has to offer! We do not see ourselves in competition with the local cycling clubs who provide the competitive cycling that many of our guys enjoy and in a number of cases have progressed to – Glos Velo is more of a bridge between beginners and experienced cyclists, bringing the two together – and they keep coming back!"

Anyone with a road bike is welcome to join them from Littledean on Thursday evenings at 6.15 for 6.30 depart and the group normally look to cover around 30 miles.

Glos Velo has a website and readers can check their route and other information at www. glosvelo.co.uk.

If you would like to know more about the James Hopkins Trust you can access their website www. james hopkinstrust.org.uk. and Paul would be grateful for any contributions to his fund raising efforts. He can be contacted on 01594 823609