TWO MEN from St Ives are setting off today to cycle the 960 miles from John O'Groats to Lands End for charity after both had grandparents who had strokes over Christmas.
Jack Coop, 25, and Lewis Kirton, 24, hope to ride the near thousand mile road route in just six days - despite having left their training programmes rather late.
Jack, a carpenter in St Ives, said: "I only started at Christmas! But I have been doing a lot since.
"We're going to try and do it in six days so the biggest day will be 160 miles and the shortest will be 130. Most people take two weeks."
Jack, and plumber Lewis, are hoping to raise £2,000 for the Phoenix Stroke Appeal and have already totted up £1,400, including a £200 donation from Penzance builders merchants Travis Perkins.
The idea for the ride arose after Jack's granddad had a stroke just before Christmas.
Jack said: "Mine was first and I asked Lewis if he wanted to come with me to raise money and awareness about strokes and it turned out one of his grandparents had had one, too."
The duo travelled up to Scotland at the weekend and are setting off from John O'Groats in the far north east of Scotland today (MONDAY).
They will celebrate their arrival back in west Cornwall with a party at St Ives Rugby Club on Saturday.
To help them reach their fundraising target go to www.justgiving.com/phoenixendtoend
