A MONSTER 400km charity bike ride across the rugged terrain of Tanzania has been conquered by two friends from Bradford on Avon.

Best friends Lesley Lay, 58, and Sonya Stephens, 54, completed the behemoth Women v Cancer challenge, and with the help of fellow town resident, Gail Smith, 58, the trio raised almost £12,000 for breast, ovarian and cervical cancer charities.

The duo pedalled 250 miles through bogs and rocky roads, in temperatures reaching 44C and with a total elevation gain of 12,342ft (3761m) over five days.

“It was an unforgettable experience and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” said Mrs Lay said: "It was far more difficult than we anticipated due to the heat, lack of sleep and having flying ants crawl all over you and into your luggage but this is nothing compared to what people have to go through every day.

“Seeing what people have to go through makes you realise how lucky we are and even though we completed the ride, the highlight was visiting a Masai school.

“They had virtually nothing but were so happy and grateful for us donating small things like pens, pencils, toothbrushes and bags – that was wonderful.

“We sang the hokey cokey and they loved it, despite thinking we were mad. The whole trip was an absolute privilege.”

The friends set out on October 1 from Heathrow, touching down 24 hours later in Moshi, Tanzania, in a group of 85 people, before embarking on the epic ride from October 3 to 7.

Mrs Smith unfortunately pulled out at the last minute as her 100-year-old mother died on the eve of the event – something that gave Mrs Lay extra motivation to complete the journey.

“It was such a shame,” she said. “There was no way we weren’t going to not complete it for Gail. However she is looking to do a ride for the charity in Vietnam later this year.”

The fundraising trio, who threw a disco, frock exchange, Motown night, static bike rides and wine and port tastings to raise the funds, smashed their target of £9,000 for Breast Cancer Care, Cervical Cancer Trust and Ovarian Cancer Action.

“The main thing is about raising awareness too,” said Mrs Lay who is planning her next cycling challenge already. “People have been fantastic in our fundraising.We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Donations to www.justgiving.com/CycleAfrica2015TeamBoA will end at the end of October.