A 69-YEAR-old is going to take on a mammoth adventure on two wheels when he turns 70 to raise money for charity.

Stewart Renfrew, from Bratton, is going to celebrate his 70th birthday on June 30 by taking on the ‘700@70in7’ challenge, which will involve cycling 700 miles through France, to raise money for CLIC Sargent, the Down’s Syndrome Association and the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation.

The ex-RAF man was inspired to take on the challenge by his five-year-old granddaughter, Fabienne, who was born with Down’s Syndrome and cataracts in both eyes, and has since also been diagnosed with leukaemia.

Mr Renfrew said: “Fabienne has experienced an incredible number of hurdles in her short life, but throughout all of it, she remains a wonderfully happy individual and brings out the best in everyone.

“That is apparent when she runs around the wards in hospital, playing hide and seek with the other children and laughing.

“Her courage, as well as the courage of others in her situation, prompted me to do something to help them, so I decided to embark on a bike ride.

“I also don’t want to grow old, so this is an opportunity for me to roll back the years and show the kids that us old codgers aren’t necessarily ‘past it’. I’ve always been sporty but I’ve never been a keen cyclist, so it’s certainly going to be a challenge, but good fun too.

“I’ve managed to rope in a few friends to come along with me too, including a few fellow riders and a support driver who will assist with directions and kit. It’s comforting to know that there will be someone there if anything happens to go wrong along the way.”

Mr Renfrew will begin the 700-mile trip in Saint-Malo in the north of France and will cycle through the country, finishing up on the beach a week later.

He added: “I think I’ll go for a swim in the Mediterranean when we get to the beach. I’ll probably need a bit of exercise after a quiet week.”

Mr Renfrew hopes to place a mechanism on his bike which will make it possible for people to track his progress on a website during the challenge, including his position and speed as he goes.

To donate, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=700at70in7StewartRenfrew