Officers set off on Devon to London charity bike challenge

A group of 21 Devon and Cornwall Police officers will be cycling from Exeter to London in aid of a local cancer charity this weekend.

The men will be start their challenge from police headquarters in Exeter at 4am on Sunday 15 September and should reach their destination by tea time.

The 170 mile ride is expected to take around 12 hours with a few stops on the way.

The police officers, based all around Devon and Cornwall, aim to raise over £500 for the FORCE Cancer Charity in Exeter.

Many of the officers cycle to work and have undertaken a tough training regime, racking up over 2000 miles each so far this year.

The group will be donning matching cycle jerseys which have been designed and made exclusively for them.

To help with the cost of these tops a few local companies have kindly donated towards the cost, including Dunn and Baker Solicitors in Cullompton, Homeweb in mid Devon, Bike Shed with shops throughout Devon, Cycle Logic in Helston and Imaginisca, a wedding photography company.

PC Dean Drury, Exeter response officer, and one of the organisers of the event, said: “We have all put in a lot of training for this and are really looking forward to the challenge ahead. It will be tough starting off so early in the morning but well worth it. Hopefully we can raise lots of money for this excellent charity at the same time.”

You can follow the team throughout their challenge on Twitter @DCPVelo with regular updates on their progress and photographs.

Anyone wishing to sponsor the group can do so by logging onto www.virginmoneygiving.com/ExeterToLondonRide

Photo - pictured from left to right outside Dunn and Baker Solicitors in Cullompton:

PC Dan Bassett (Headquarters)
PC Simon Halloran (Exmouth)
PC Dean Drury (Headquarters)
Insp Simon Arliss (Headquarters)
PS Ian Rowe (Headquarters)
Darren White (Dunn & Baker)
Kevin Taylor (Homeweb)
PC Chris Rennie (Headquarters)
PC Andy Elliott (Headquarters)
PC Dave Thomas (Headquarters)
PC Steve Cruwys (Headquarters)

The other officers taking part who were not pictured:

PC Spike Freestone (Headquarters)
PC Troy Bennett (Headquarters)
PC Gareth Cowell (Headquarters)
PC Stu Peters (Exeter)
PC Pete Dockree (Headquarters)
PC Simon Ogden (Barnstaple)
PC Jason Chubb (Barnstaple)
PC Mark Stewart (Barnstaple)
PC Ray Heil (Camborne)
PC Al Joines (Plympton)
PC Chris Stone (Plympton)
PC Dave Drury (Ilfracombe)