FIVE men are to embark on a gruelling 1,600 mile cycle to Spain in memory of one member’s late father, who completed the journey when he was younger.

The quintet – Peter Killingbeck, his cousin Hugh, Daniel Francis, Tom McDougall and Thomas Clark – will set off from Letchworth GC and cycle to Alicante, hoping to complete the journey in 16 days.

They will be raising money for Garden House Hospice, which cared for Peter’s father, Steve, before he died from pancreatic cancer in March.

Steve was a keen cyclist when he was younger, and completed the same journey in his twenties.

“My dad did it in 10 days, but he was trying to do it in a good time. We just want to make it there,” joked 26-year-old Peter, who is from Hitchin.

“He did it when he was about 25, so we’re revisiting his journey.”

The group, who have been holding fundraisers to raise awareness of their feat, have undertaken a busy training schedule.

“We’ve all cycled before, but none of us were keen cyclists. I would say we have become keen cyclists,” said Peter.

“We’ve all bought new bikes and with the Tour de France and Olympics, it’s a good time to be doing this.”

He added: “We’ve had a good response, a lot of people are interested in what we’re doing.”

The men will cycle through Bordeaux, in France, and go through parts of the Pyrenees. They set off from the hospice in September.

To sponsor the five, visit www.justgiving.com/LifeCycle2012