Ealing man cycling to China for charity

The 28-year-old will be accompanied by his former co-worker, Peter Bloor, who lives in Hackney, for the challenge of a life time starting on June 8.

Mr Keeling, who worked in education, was spurred on to take the challenge for his late father who suffered with the disease and died when he was only eight years old.

The keen cyclist, said: "Most of the memories I have of my father is of him in a wheelchair, struggling to get upstairs and everything relates very strongly to his disability.

"But because of the support from the MS Society, it didn't impact too strongly on family life and I thought it was a normal thing to have a dad who wasn't as mobile towards the end of his life.

"Being able to help people in a similar position means a lot to me, and I hope we can raise a considerable amount for them.

"It won't be a race to get to China as we hope to soak up everything we see along the way, meet new people and experience their cultures and we're really looking forward to it.

"The most exciting times will be the things that we can't envisage in the back waters of foreign countries but we relish the challenge and plan to do a lot of the training while on the trip."

The pair will follow the historic Silk Route, pedalling across Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia and will be cycling through 25 countries to reach their destination.

So far, they have raised £1,000 but are urging people to help them reach their target.

To sponsor, visit www.justgiving.com/spinning-silk and to read their blog, visit www.spinningsilk.org.uk