Four middle-aged male cyclists will carry the Coventry based Baby Lifeline message during a 9 day ride crossing England and back.

The journey  will encompass the well-known Coast to Coast route from Whitehaven to Tynemouth, returning along the more northerly Reivers route.

Starting at Whitehaven  Harbour - where it is traditional to dip the bike front wheel in the briny -the first two sections of the 156 miles C2C route go through The Lake District and then on to the Pennines, each area having it’s share of punishing hills. Villages in the latter area were in former days large and prosperous from lead mining like the en route Consett was for steel and where the roads become flatter

As a reward there will be a night-out in Newcastle and, after wending  through the Tynemouth suburbs the 173 mile Reivers route heads north towards Scotland - at one point even going over the border - from where the notorious Reivers raided. It is likely to be less arduous with more moderate gradients and lower hills, with the terrain, in contrast to the more wild C2C, including more agriculture and passing through  Keilder Water and Forest, returning to The Lake District via Carlisle.