A while back, someone had the bright idea that a bunch of 6 middle-aged, spend-too-much-time-in the-village-pub blokes from the Weston Wheelers cycling club in Stafford should take on stage 18 of the Tour de France by participating in the 2017 Etape du tour. This is an amateur cycling race with 15,000 participants that takes place 4 days prior to the professionals tackling the same stage as part of the 2017 Tour de France.

The race is 178 km long, has 11,578 ft of climbing, will take us about 8 hours to complete (if we do actually complete it!), and all in the heat of the South of France on 16th July 2017! More details about the race are here if you're interested:

http://www.sportive.com/cycling-training/524192/etape-du-tour-2017-route-analysis-178km-and-3529m-of-climbing 

Whilst the pain in our legs during training and the actual race may be difficult to get through at times, we will be raising money for 'A cure for George'. This is a family fund charity set up for George Booth from our village who has recently been diagnosed with Becker Muscular Dystrophy - a progressive muscle wasting condition. George, who is 5 years old and Adam's son (one of the riders), suffers with pain from muscle spasms in his legs and arms most days and, unfortunately, as his condition progresses he will need to use a wheelchair and he has a shortened life expectancy. There is currently no cure for Muscular Dystrophy. See the 'A cure for George' main campaign page for more details.

All money raised goes to Muscular Dystrophy UK to fund research into a cure for Becker Muscular Dystrophy, which is the big hope we have for George given his young age.

Muscular Dystrophy UK is the charity for 70,000 people living with muscle-wasting conditions. They are making a difference today, providing vital information and support to help people live as independently as possible. They are making a difference for tomorrow, accelerating progress in research and driving the campaign for access to emerging treatments.