THE Bank Holiday plans of a group of five friends from North Yorkshire are anything but relaxing.

They plan to spend their time pedalling a distance of 134 miles to raise money for six different charities.

Sarah Barron, Joan Finn, Jill Gardner and Karen Kirtley - all from Northallerton - became firm friends at the gates of the town's Broomfield School, which is attended by their children. The fifth rider, Helen Hockenhull, lives in Stillington, near Easingwold.

They will be cycling along the coast-to-coast route, from Whitehaven to Sunderland, and the preparations for the three-day trip have taken them three months.

Mrs Barron, a human resources manager at Durham University, said the idea of tackling the coast to coast route had become an attractive test for them.

"We wanted the personal challenge, and in doing so it's a good way to raise money for our chosen charities," said the 35-year-old, the youngest of the women: her co-riders are aged from 43-49.

They are riding to raise money for a range of charities, including the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and the Alzheimer's Society.

"They are causes close to all of our hearts, having lost friends and family members to the diseases," said Mrs Barron.

In addition, teacher Jill Gardner is raising money for a school for underprivileged deaf children in South Africa, while Helen Hockenhull, a chiropractor, is fundraising for Crayke Primary School and St Leonard's Hospice in York.

"We've done lots of fun training rides around and about," said Mrs Barron, "But we're ready for the big ride now. We hope to give each other encouragement and entertainment - there will be some serious laughter along the way."

Anyone interested in donating to the riders' chosen causes can do so online at justgiving.com/c2cbhf, justgiving.com/c2ccancerresearch or justgiving.com/c2calzheimersociety, or by calling 01609 760828.