A team of five riders from Congleton are going to attempt to cycle an epic 210km over two days from coast to coast to raise money for Visyon, a children's mental health charity.

The team will be setting off from St Bees in the Lake District on the West Coast, early on the morning of Saturday, 10 July, with a stopover at Appleby, before finishing up the day after at Seaham on the East Coast for a "well-deserved fish and chip supper".

The route will take the riders through the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales.

Team Members

Keith Hipkiss - has pulled the team together from Warrior Martial Arts in Congleton.

Mark Beardmore - has planned the whole route and is a seasoned cyclist who loves hills.

Dave Workman - works for Astra Zeneca and is a keen cyclist.

Daniel Minshull - runs an outdoor entertainment company whose son attends Warrior.

Mark Intihar - Is the MD for Ham Baker Ltd and also brings his son to Warrior.

Speaking about the challenge ahead on their fundraising page, the team said: "This will be very hilly, so it's going to be huge challenge to get our legs to do all that work."

Visyon is based in Congleton but supports families all over Cheshire and Staffordshire Moorlands.

They look after children, young people and their families when they need support with their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

The group added: "It's a cause close to all our hearts."

Keith, who has put the cycling challenge team together, runs Warrior Martial Arts gym in Congleton with his partner Mandy.

The team continued: "The majority of his [Keith] students are children and young adults and they've seen the impact the pandemic has had on them.

"All the other members of the challenge squad also have children, some of whom attend classes at the gym, and we all want to help children with their mental health.

"The impact of the Covid pandemic over the last year has meant Visyon has seen even more children and young people with complex mental health issues than usual, but at the same time, they had to cancel all of their fundraising events due to lockdowns.

"We want to raise some money as they need our help to support these children and young people more than ever.

"Please give what you can – each donation, no matter the size, will help to get us towards our target and motivate us to cycle up those tough hills.

"Please share our story too – the more people we can tell about the amazing work of Visyon and our cycling challenge, the more money we can raise for this brilliant charity."

The group thanked Cycle Centre in Congleton, who are sponsoring spare supplies for the bikes the cyclists are using, as this will help the team complete the challenge and mean all the funds raised can go directly to Visyon.

The group also thanked LizzyB's Cafe who is sponsoring the riders.

You can donate here.