THREE days before the Tour of Britain hits the Cotswolds, three staff members from Stroud District Council will be setting off on a day-trip with a difference.

They’ll be taking to their saddles for an epic 180-mile cycle challenge around the Cotswolds.

Barry Wyatt (Strategic Head of Development Services), Ashley Nicholson (Senior Community Safety Officer) and Paul Bowley (Building Control Manager) will be joined by endurance cyclist, Rick Spring, of Cytek Cycles in Cainscross, Stroud.

The group of four will leave Whitminster before dawn on Sunday 7 September. Their aim is to complete the 180-mile circuit in just one day, capturing some of the route on video along the way.

The cyclists are following the route of the new Cotswolds & Severn Vale 7-day cycling tour map, launched by the Cotswolds Tourism Partnership this summer as part of The Great Cotswold Outdoors marketing campaign to promote walking and cycling in Gloucestershire.

They will be raising money for Winston’s Wish and Stroud District Food Bank.

Barry Wyatt, Strategic Head, says: “It’s a greater distance than any off us have cycled before in one hit. Not only are we laying down the gauntlet for others to take up the challenge, but also to show those who want to have a go, that it can be done in whole or in part.”

Towns and villages en route will include Gloucester, Winchcombe, Upper Slaughter, Burford, Bibury, Cirencester, Tetbury, Stroud, Nailsworth, Wotton under Edge and Berkeley.

Barry says: “It’ll be a fantastic way to enjoy the beauty of the Cotswolds. Some of the hidden gems of the county are best seen by bike. I’m most looking forward to getting to the top of the climb on to the escarpment at Winchcombe, the coffee stops and getting home!”

The Cotswolds & Severn Vale waterproof cycle map splits the route into seven daily sections of around 30 miles each. It is available to buy from Gloucestershire Visitor Information Centres for £3.99.

The group’s epic cycle will be the start of Stroud District Council’s celebrations of the Tour of Britain heading through the district on 10 September.

Chief Executive, David Hagg, will cycle with a few staff from the council offices to Wallbridge in Stroud in time for the tour. At Wallbridge, visitors can enjoy various cycling-related activities as well as meeting Mr Pedersen with his revolutionary Dursley Pedersen Cycle (on loan from the Museum in the Park). The streets will be lined with knitted cycle-shirt bunting, connecting the event with the district’s woollen heritage.