As keen cyclists but firmly weekend warriors, watching on each year as the Pro’s tackle three week Grand Tours is at times awe inspiring but others difficult to comprehend - so when asked if we would be interested in taking part of a wider group of 20 riders to tackle the 2023 Giro Italia, the ultimate bike ride. A Grand Tour! How could we say no!

 Hugo Langerman, John Coleman and John Quinn will in May be setting off to Italy to ride the whole of the Giro D’Itlaia 2023 course.

The goal is to arrive in Rome 23 days later with a group total of £50,000 raised for the charity.

An incredible experience, and to raise money for The Toy Appeal www.thetoyappeal.com

The stats are mind blowing and back breaking:

* All 21 stages of the race 

* 3,450km

*51,300 metres of climbing - the equivalent of sea level to Everest summit SIX times.

* A mere 48 hours before the pros ride the same route.

The ride is raising money for The Toy Appeal an amazing Registered Children's Charity - the riders are all self-funding their places and expected to raise a small amount for the chosen charity.

The Toy Appeal is a registered charity, # 1179080, operated by Dee and Chris Drake and a large team of volunteers each year, which provides a sack of toys at Christmas to children, aged 2 – 17 years old, who are living in poverty.

The Appeal has been running since 2013. To date, we have made Christmas Day very special for thousands of children across the North West of England.

Social workers, schools, women’s refuges, food banks and drop-in centres, can refer a child or family to The Toy Appeal to ensure that they have presents to open on Christmas morning. Sadly we are unable to take requests directly from parents or carers.

We believe that every child deserves to experience the magic of Christmas and The Toy Appeal steps in to help Father Christmas do this for thousands of children every year.

We provide toy sacks to children, regardless of race, religion and gender, as long as they are referred via a social worker, a school, a food bank or a women’s refuge.Thank you checking out our page and learning more about our challenge and the important work of the charity. We hope you can donate what you can afford and we look forward to updating everybody during the challenge.