A BUSINESSMAN from Colwall is gearing up for the challenge of a lifetime when he takes on a fund-raising bike ride from London to Paris.

James Harvey, who lives in Pedlingham Close, signed up for the Paris Cycle Challenge to raise money for the St Richard’s Hospice after reading about the event in the Malvern Gazette.

“I saw it in the paper and thought it would give me a goal and a challenge, and would also be a good opportunity to raise some money for a very deserving charity,” he said.

The 50-year-old is not a regular cyclist, and has been training hard to ensure he is ready for the challenge in July.

“I had to go out an buy a bike when I decided to take part in the challenge. Before that I have not had a bike in any real sense since I was a lad,” he said. “I don’t think you can tackle something like this without doing the training.

“I have been averaging more than 100 miles a week for the last four or five weeks and I have been enjoying it. One of the main reasons for doing this was to be able to get out and enjoy some of the beautiful countryside we have in this area.”