An Army wife from near York is among 80 women preparing to invade Cuba for a gruelling charity bike ride along mountain and jungle tracks.

Gev Nichol, 55, of St Martin's Close, Fang Foss, near Pocklington, is being coached by her her husband, David, 56, a former Major in REME, for the 250 trek from Havana to the coast.

The 80 cyclists are all members of Women Vs Cancer, each aiming to raise £2,900 both for UK research and to kick start Cuba's fledging home grown cancer charity.

They set off on October 2 for the six-day journey. The mother-of-two was a military wife for 30 years and started cycling to visit her husband at his barracks.

Gev says she and bikes did not really get on when she first got in the saddle.

"On one of my first rides I cycled for an hour and a half with my helmet the wrong way round," she Mrs Nichol, a Learning Support Teacher at Huntington School,

But her fitness levels and cycling skills soon improved and now she is clocking up 52 miles every ride, including trips over The Wolds to prepare for the mountain terrain.

To donate go to http://www.justgiving.com/Gev-Nichol.