A trio of directors from i3 Group are gearing up to cycle the length of Britain in aid of charity. Elfed Thomas , CEO and founder of the Haydock-based company, alongside fellow directors Adrian Crook and John Bookless, will saddle up to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats next month.

The team is set to embark on the sponsored bike ride on Thursday, September 3rd 2009, and aims to cycle more than 900 miles in 12 days in the hope of raising more than £100,000. The money raised will be split between two organisations, Cancer Care and WaterAid, which provides practical solutions and raises awareness of global water issues.

Elfed said: “We’re all very motivated and enjoy keeping fit and so had been discussing taking on a physical challenge to raise money for charity. Someone jokingly challenged us to cycle the vast distance from Land’s End to John O’Groats which, after some thought and a lot of training, we decided to go for.

“We chose Cancer Care as one of our two charities as we’ve all been touched by this devastating illness in some way. And, because of the nature of our work in laying fibre optic cables via the fresh and waste water networks, we thought the ride would also be a great opportunity to raise money for WaterAid and increase awareness of global water issues, in particular the plight of the world’s poorest people who don’t have access to safe water and sanitation.”

i3 Group pioneered the FS System, a patented method of using ready made ducts such as the sewer and fresh water system, to deploy super fast fibre optic networks quicker and more cost effectively than traditional road digging. Businesses, local councils, hospital and universities are already benefiting from the superfast connectivity afforded by the improved network via i3 Group divisions H2O Networks, H2O International and Fibrecity.