A GROUP of hobby cyclists will be cycling more than 200 miles from London to Paris later this year to raise money for medical detection dogs.

And their efforts are being supported by Embsay’s Alice Halstead, who suffers from a rare form of diabetes and who has a medical detection dog.

Martin Whipp, who heads up the Harrogate office of the North Yorkshire Diabetic Eye Screening Programme, and nine of his colleagues, will set off from Tower Bridge in London in early September.

They plan to cycle 70 miles a day and reach Paris three days later, having tackled the traffic of both London and Paris city centres.

“We’re only hobby cyclists, so it will be a bit of a challenge for us. Last year, we cycled from Skipton to Bridlington and raised £3,000 for various diabetic charities and that was so successful, we thought we’d do it again,” he said.

The cyclists, men and women, will be staying in small bed and breakfasts along the route, will be accompanied by just one support vehicle and have had their route planned for them by a police officer with experience of the Tour de France.

“The most challenging part is going to be cycling around London and Paris, and we will be cycling up the Champs de Elysee, just because we can,” he said.

The group hopes to raise around £5,000. To make a donation, go to justgiving.com/nydesp