AN adventurous group of friends are gearing up for a fundraising bike ride in aid of Bury Hospice.

The ‘Fat Lads Bike Ride’ will see Keith Ingham, Jason Smith, Simon Smith, Ian Astley, Ste Cahill and Martin Grime cycle from Edinburgh to Bury over five gruelling days.

They will have to cycle for around 50 miles a day, and will be camping along the route in Moffat, Wigton, Kendal, and Blackpool.

Originally, the friends had planned to organise a one-day ride from Blackpool to Bury, but grew more ambitious with their target and have already raised more than £1,000.

Keith, aged 42, of Dawson Street, said: “We are all in training for the ride but none of us are really keen cyclists.

“We are just normal blokes who like to go and have a pint at the weekend – which is why we have taken on the Fat Lads name.

“We are camping all the way as well so it’s not like we’ll have a comfy bed to sleep in or anything like that.

“It’s a massive challenge and I think we’re just starting to realise the scale of what we are taking on, but we’re definitely looking forward to it.

“We only wanted to do a one-day ride at first, so I’m not sure how it escalated into what it is now.”

On top of the money raised through a Virgin Money Giving webpage, the team have collected more than £500 in other donations, and are hoping to reach at least £2,000 overall by the time they finish the ride.

They will set off from Edinburgh on Monday June 8, before arriving back in Bury on Friday June 12.

Keith, a former semi-professional footballer, added: “I know it’s going to be a real slog at times, but it’s all for a good cause.

“We all know that the hospice is always in need of donations, and they do so much good work there so we decided to help out and challenge ourselves to do something positive.”

To donate: visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/fatladsbikeride