Shropshire and mid Wales ladies get on their bikes to raise mental health cash with Paris ride

The women pedalled the 300 miles over four days, arriving in the French capital on Saturday evening.

And their efforts have been rewarded as they have more than doubled their fundraising goal by so far raising nearly £8,500 for the cross border charity – Mental Health Support.

Gemma Oliver, who took part on the ride along with Emma Wilde, Kim Sulway, Eve Over, Rachel Jones, Bev Wilkins and Amanda Callery, said: “We did 80 miles the first day, 90 the second, another 80 miles on the third day and 60 miles on the last.

“We had a support driver, Mark Sulway, with us with a van who fed us on the go and we stayed form place to place, but it was brilliant fun.

“The first day was the hardest as we had to get out of London. Against the time for the ferry so that was the roughest day and there was a lot more climbing involved than we realised.”

She added that it was a relief to see the Eiffel Tower hove into view when they arrived in Paris at around 6pm on Saturday.

She said, while one of the group works in the mental health field, it was a cause that every member of the group could relate to.

She added: “We self-funded this self organised trip, ensuring that every pound raised will go to Shropshire MHS so they can a meaningful difference to our local community through the invaluable services provided by Shropshire MHS.”

If you want to support the ladies' cause, their fundraising page is available at: justgiving.com/page/gopluslondon2paris