Evening Herald motoring editor Hilary Vivian is in training for a 280-mile bike ride across Poland to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

She will leave Plymouth for a four-day adventure from September 13-16 – and will start in the city of Krakow before heading along the Vistula River and ending in Warsaw.

Hilary said: “I saw a letter from Edwina Currie in the paper recruiting cyclists for the event and as I’ve got a birthday with a nought on the end this year, thought it would be a good challenge – physical and financial for a great cause.”

Next year will see the 100th anniversary of Polish-born Maria Sklodowska, and her French husband Pierre Curie, receiving the Nobel Prize for physics – the first woman ever to receive the prize in the sciences.

Both Marie Curie and Pierre were keen cyclists and those on the trip will recognise their achievements by participating in their favourite hobby, while exploring the country and cities of Marie’s youth.

Hilary said: “We’ve been told the route is flattish, but whether that’s by Devon and Cornwall standards, we’re not sure. You can’t avoid hills the minute you step outside the door down here.

“I live in north west Devon on the Cornwall border, so training so far has meant whizzing along the flat tracks of the Tarka and Camel Trails, alternating with some hillier bits on the back roads towards the coast.

“The hardest part is the relentless breeze off the Bristol Channel and the Atlantic, numb hands and sore wrist and thumb joints. Great scenery and wildlife, though.

“Or I could cycle to work and back, though I’d have to get up before I’d gone to bed.”

Hilary (above) has managed to exceed her original fundraising target of £1,599, and the final amount collected is likely to be more than £3,000.

She said: “I am delighted at the positive response. So many people have sent in donations and agreed to sponsor me – and I haven’t even started on my colleagues yet!

“I say a big thank you to all who have donated so far. People have been so generous that I’m raising the final target. I shan’t know what that is until it happens, though.”

Hilary, who is also Westcountry Publications’ regional commercial editor and formerly chief sub-editor of the Evening Herald’s sister paper, the Express and Echo at Exeter, is seeking sponsorship from workmates past and present – and intends to tackle her home town of Holsworthy door-to-door.

• Marie Curie Cancer Care provides care for thousands of cancer patients in their own homes and at 10 hospices across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its scientists are providing hope by searching for a cure at the Marie Curie Research Institute.

To sponsor Hilary, contact her on 01752 765646 or e-mail her at [email protected].

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