An eight-strong cycle team from Cheshire Oaks based Mitchell Group, which represents the Mazda Skoda and Lexus car franchises for Cheshire and North Wales, is taking to the road this month to ride 182 miles from Chester to Cardiff in a 24 hour challenge.

The team hopes to raise £9,000 for regional cerebral palsy charity, Stick ‘n’ Step, which is enough money to sponsor two children’s places there for a year.

For the last two years, the Mitchell Group cycle team has completed an annual summer cycle challenge raising over £12,000 for local charities.

The Chester to Cardiff route is significantly longer than anything the team has undertaken before.

Leaving Mitchell HQ at Cheshire Oaks at 1pm on Friday, June 29, the eight intrepid cyclists will pedal through 180 miles of English and Welsh countryside, aiming to reach the harbour front in Cardiff the same time the following day – just 24 hours later.

Ian Wilde, group marketing and communications manager for Mitchell Group, said: “This is going to be our toughest challenge yet and we’ve been training hard.

“We greatly admire the work Stick ‘n’ Step does to help children with cerebral palsy to gain independence and so we are delighted to raise funds for them in this way.”

Janet Ratcliffe, trusts and grants fundraiser for Stick ‘n’ Step, said: “We are so grateful to Mitchell Group for selecting us to benefit from this amazing fundraising challenge. It costs £4,500 to cover the cost of one child accessing our services for a year and we need to raise over £500,000 annually.

“Support from local businesses like Mitchell Group is an absolute lifeline for us.”

Stick ‘n’ Step offers support services to children with cerebral palsy and their families.

The charity provides the children with totally free of charge conductive education sessions, allowing them to gain the skills they need to live independent lives.

More than 80 children, from across the region, attend these sessions weekly or twice weekly at the charity’s Wallasey and Runcorn centres.

To donate to Mitchell Group’s 24 hour cycle challenge, visit www.justgiving.com/teams/mitchellgroupc2c or to find out more about Stick ‘n’ Step and how you can help the charity, please go to www.sticknstep.org or contact Janet Ratcliffe on 0151 638 0888 or email janet@sticknstep.org.