A father and daughter team from Falmouth will be taking on their biggest challenge yet today, when they begin a journey cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

This is no ordinary cycle ride, however, and the challenge will push Mike and Rita Barker-Lyon physically and mentally, requiring strength, endurance, and a lot of teamwork – but in doing so they hope to raise money for charities very close to their hearts, which have been with them right since the start of their own journey.

Rita, 15, was born with cerebral palsy and Turner’s syndrome, but she has never let it stop her from taking on challenges, reaching her goals, and helping others along the way.

This 1,000-mile bike ride is her biggest challenge yet, but it will not be the first time Rita has done great things for charitable causes.

In 2019 she walked 1,000 metres around her school in Falmouth, raising money for The Dogs Trust, and in 2021 she organised a community fun day, raising just over £1,500 for Whizz-Kidz.

On the same day, the mayor of Falmouth opened a wheelchair accessible path through Prislow Woods, a project which Rita and her family were involved in from the beginning.

Now it’s time for ‘Rita and Mike on a Bike’. This latest challenge getting underway today (Thursday, August 3) will see Rita and Mike cycling on a tandem bike that they have been training with for months.

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They will be resting at night in their van, which friends have volunteered to take turns driving, and they hope to complete the challenge in three weeks.

Funds raised will be split between charities special to them: Whizz-Kidz, a charity supporting young wheelchair users in the UK; Moor Vision, which supports children and young people in Devon and Cornwall with vision impairment and their families; The Wave Project, which works to improve the mental health and well-being of children and young people through surf therapy; and Shallal, who help people in Cornwall access their creativity, giving them an equal voice and the opportunity to discover their potential.

You can follow Rita and Mike on a Bike on their Instagram and Facebook pages, @Ritaandmikeonabike, and you can sponsor them on their fundraising page https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/rita-and-mike-on-a-bike