WITH less than four weeks to go until their mammoth adventure, a team of Oxfordshire cyclists are getting fighting fit for the challenge.

John Sammons' 300-mile ride, with three team-mates, is to say thank you to a charity which continues to help his family and their disabled two-year-old son Kye.

It will be the second time Mr Sammons, 37, of Ambrosden, has done the ride from Land's End to Oxfordshire to raise funds for children's charity ROSY (Respite for Oxfordshire's Sick Youngsters).

Mr Sammons said the charity, which provides support to families with nursing and specialist equipment, has been his family's lifeline.

He said he and wife Sarah, 33, would have been lost without the charity's help as they learned to cope after Kye was oxygen-starved at birth.

Last year Mr Sammons raised more than £5,200 for ROSY.

This year, Welsh kickboxing champion Amy Knight-Archer, 19, her sister Claire, 23, and Claire's fitness instructor boyfriend Kurt Austin, 25, are joining the ride.

They have been putting in hundreds of miles in the saddle as well as following a strict fitness regime with gym sessions and kickboxing classes.

Mr Sammons, who works at a garage, said: "Kye is fighting every day, so this is my way of fighting for him.

"When he was born, he was given 24 hours to live. He was on life support for 12 hours. Every other night, we were told he wasn't going to make it.

"ROSY is the only charity which has ever been there for us, 24/7. They only have three nurses who take a wage, everyone else involved does it for nothing, so although 300 miles might seem like a long way, it's not much compared to what these people do, day in day out."

The team is due to set off from Land's End on Tuesday, March 18, and arrive at Ambrosden Community Centre on Easter Monday. Along the way, they will pedal past Stonehenge, St Michael's Mount and Bodmin Moor.

To find out more about the cycle ride or to make a donation, visit rosy.org.uk or call 01865 848696.