CARDIGAN born and bred Carys Nicholas has set her sights on a gruelling challenge – one that will hopefully raise awareness and money for two charities close to her heart as well as helping her to get fit and lose weight.

She hopes to cycle 100 kilometers (just over 62 miles) in two hours – a simple task some might say. But Carys was born with a condition called Spina bifida where her spine was not developed properly and this task will test her to the limit.

"I must be insane," laughed Carys who is five pounds off losing two stone with Slimming World since she joined the group in July. "At 4ft 5in, I need to lose another 10 stone and my family bought me a stationary hand propelled bike I paddle with my hands to help with my weight loss.

"A friend of mine Laura Winter, cycles with me and we thought it would be a good idea to set a challenge for us both in January, all for fun to see who could cycle the furthest during that month. We corresponded via facebook and I posted my progress on my page. I won with the most mileage and we got talking about raising money. My partner Kirsty suggested I did a sponsored cycle and so I thought I’d challenge myself," explained Carys.

"It’s now out there on social media that I will be doing this challenge at the end of April. I’m determined and I don’t want to let people down. I want to raise awareness of these charities that help locally and also to raise awareness of Slimming World, as if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be in the right frame of mind," concluded Carys.

Carys will be cycling for two charities that have supported her - Mencap Ceredigion and SHINE Cymru and she hopes to raise £1000 divided between each one.

To sponsor her, visit: crowdfunding.justgiving.com/carys-nicholas

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