They aim to cycle 962 miles, from John O Groats to Lands End - in only 10 days.
Beyond Mountain Bikes have provided them with advice on kit, training and nutrition, as well as giving them financial assistance in equipping themselves for the ride.
Here is the story of how they have trained for this test of endurance.
02/01/2010
Training ride no 1 Sunday Jan 24, 2010.
Working on the principle of 'in at the deep end' we planned a 60 mile ride to see how much chafing a grown man could stand without stopping and pushing.
Being the one without a turbo trainer and currently borrowing a hybrid bike rather than drag a heavy mountain bike round, I was expecting to be the weaker of the two.
Mat duly arrived from Godalming at 9 am on a dry cloudy, and cold morning, right on time for bacon butties and a large mug of coffee.
After pumping a few more psi into the tyres to allow for the bacon, we pedalled away from Westoning. For me it took a while to get used to riding a very upright but beautifully light hybrid bike again.
The saddle was mercifully plush.
My route was mostly in my head, with a map for the complicated bits that I forgot and as a nod to our mutual fetish for motorsport, the first destination was the Red Bull Racing factory in the Tilbrook area of Milton Keynes.
The traffic was light and we could chat away as we pedalled through Ridgmont, Woburn and into the wooded roads to Aspley Heath.
We hit maximum speed dropping down into Little Brickhill but 27 mph was more down to the 1:5 gradient rather than powerful legs.
Apart from the paintjob, the F1 team's building was all quiet this dull Sunday morning, but we were not disappointed.
Chatting about the prospects for F1 and rallying in 2010 we were both agreed it has the makings of a great year.
That distracted me from the navigation briefly but the rest stop at the Daytona kart track convinced Mat we were back on the right track. Was there a headwind regardless of our direction? The sky was brightning so it didn't matter.
Next town on the route was Stony Stratford where I celebrated my stag night nearly 12 years ago. That was a Cock and Bull story.
Passenham looked peaceful as we crossed the River Ouse and headed for the backroads out to Deanshanger and on to Whittlebury. The sign posts in Deanshanger could be bad for morale; we cycled half a mile through the village and saw 'Whittlebury 4 miles' more than once. Still we'd reached the 30 mile halfway point without much discomfort, the sun was coming through and we ticked off another petrolhead venue when we could just see the Silverstone grandstands through the trees.
The A5 is a busy road, but it is straight and quick, even on a bike. Cars have plenty of road to pass wide and for me it was head down and keep thinking of the imminent lunch stop I had planned. Trouble was, I couldn't build up the Super Sausage Cafe too much because it could have been closed. It's legendary. We couldn't help a daft smile as we lent the bikes up and went inside to sit in the sunlight and drink huge mugs of tea. Mat's steak kept him smiling and my modest sausage beans and chips were perfect.
Restarting is always difficult, but we soon got back into a 15mph rhythm down to the major roundabout at Stoney Stratford and back through the town centre. Were my boxer shorts still stuffed above the speakers in the Cock Inn after 12 years. We didn't stop to find out.
40 miles. At this point the tops of my legs were burning on the inclines. I decided to revert to the route plan B and leave the Aston Martin factory in Newport Pagnell for another day. I had to stop to stretch off the cramps in Bletchley, but that, and a tailwind through a set of fast roundabouts helped for a while. At 50 miles there was a long incline out of Woburn Sands past the mountain bike tracks in Aspley Heath and Woburn woods.
Mat did the decent thing and held back as I was struggling to keep up until the downhill. I wasn't looking forward to the last steep slope through the park at Woburn as my legs were on the verge of cramping and the saddle had lost its plush setting in the last 10 miles.
In the end I crested the hill and from there it was a cruise back to the house along very familiar roads to Westoning. The attached photo was not enhanced - the true mileage was 60.24, in 5 hours, and the endorphines were kicking in before the kettle had boiled.
The end of a successful first outing in the winter sunshine.
Oh for the same still sunny weather for 10 days in June.
Porks
Working on the principle of 'in at the deep end' we planned a 60 mile ride to see how much chafing a grown man could stand without stopping and pushing.
Being the one without a turbo trainer and currently borrowing a hybrid bike rather than drag a heavy mountain bike round, I was expecting to be the weaker of the two.
Mat duly arrived from Godalming at 9 am on a dry cloudy, and cold morning, right on time for bacon butties and a large mug of coffee.
After pumping a few more psi into the tyres to allow for the bacon, we pedalled away from Westoning. For me it took a while to get used to riding a very upright but beautifully light hybrid bike again.
The saddle was mercifully plush.
My route was mostly in my head, with a map for the complicated bits that I forgot and as a nod to our mutual fetish for motorsport, the first destination was the Red Bull Racing factory in the Tilbrook area of Milton Keynes.
The traffic was light and we could chat away as we pedalled through Ridgmont, Woburn and into the wooded roads to Aspley Heath.
We hit maximum speed dropping down into Little Brickhill but 27 mph was more down to the 1:5 gradient rather than powerful legs.
Apart from the paintjob, the F1 team's building was all quiet this dull Sunday morning, but we were not disappointed.
Chatting about the prospects for F1 and rallying in 2010 we were both agreed it has the makings of a great year.
That distracted me from the navigation briefly but the rest stop at the Daytona kart track convinced Mat we were back on the right track. Was there a headwind regardless of our direction? The sky was brightning so it didn't matter.
Next town on the route was Stony Stratford where I celebrated my stag night nearly 12 years ago. That was a Cock and Bull story.
Passenham looked peaceful as we crossed the River Ouse and headed for the backroads out to Deanshanger and on to Whittlebury. The sign posts in Deanshanger could be bad for morale; we cycled half a mile through the village and saw 'Whittlebury 4 miles' more than once. Still we'd reached the 30 mile halfway point without much discomfort, the sun was coming through and we ticked off another petrolhead venue when we could just see the Silverstone grandstands through the trees.
The A5 is a busy road, but it is straight and quick, even on a bike. Cars have plenty of road to pass wide and for me it was head down and keep thinking of the imminent lunch stop I had planned. Trouble was, I couldn't build up the Super Sausage Cafe too much because it could have been closed. It's legendary. We couldn't help a daft smile as we lent the bikes up and went inside to sit in the sunlight and drink huge mugs of tea. Mat's steak kept him smiling and my modest sausage beans and chips were perfect.
Restarting is always difficult, but we soon got back into a 15mph rhythm down to the major roundabout at Stoney Stratford and back through the town centre. Were my boxer shorts still stuffed above the speakers in the Cock Inn after 12 years. We didn't stop to find out.
40 miles. At this point the tops of my legs were burning on the inclines. I decided to revert to the route plan B and leave the Aston Martin factory in Newport Pagnell for another day. I had to stop to stretch off the cramps in Bletchley, but that, and a tailwind through a set of fast roundabouts helped for a while. At 50 miles there was a long incline out of Woburn Sands past the mountain bike tracks in Aspley Heath and Woburn woods.
Mat did the decent thing and held back as I was struggling to keep up until the downhill. I wasn't looking forward to the last steep slope through the park at Woburn as my legs were on the verge of cramping and the saddle had lost its plush setting in the last 10 miles.
In the end I crested the hill and from there it was a cruise back to the house along very familiar roads to Westoning. The attached photo was not enhanced - the true mileage was 60.24, in 5 hours, and the endorphines were kicking in before the kettle had boiled.
The end of a successful first outing in the winter sunshine.
Oh for the same still sunny weather for 10 days in June.
Porks
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