It sounded like a good idea at the time. Returning from their annual trip to Crickhowell’s twin town of Scaer in Brittany, six members of a local running club, decided to cycle there this summer.

Three had already cycled from Crickhowell to Scaer via Plymouth, so doing it “the other way” was agreed.

In a few days time therefore, the intrepid half dozen will be boarding the ferry to Santander in northern Spain to start their road trip back to Scaer, and on to the ferryport at Roscoff.

It has been nicknamed the Tour de la Baie or Trip round the Bay, which sounds easy, but it comes to about 800 miles of pedalling, including a bit of the Pyrenees, in 12 days and to make it more interesting there’s a six hour running relay race thrown in!

To make it even more worthwhile they are seeking sponsorship for the Welsh charity Bobath Cymru, which provides therapy and support for children with cerebral palsy.

Team leader, Laurence Snowden explains that “another member of our club has a son who suffers from cerebral palsy and uses Bobath’s support, so it was a simple decision to choose them as a beneficiary.” (Donations can be made via www.virginmoneygiving.com/IanMabberley)

The team hopes to chart its progress by sending daily updates for the Chronicle online version.