A Sevenoaks man will join a group of 11 old school friends embarking on a four-day cycle to raise £100,000 for a muscular dystrophy charity.

Mike Barnard, from Otford, will be cycling alongside Nick Tausig, whose young songs, Theo and Oskar, both have Duchenne - a strain of muscular dystrophy which affects young boys.

The team will make the four day, 460-mile ride down through the rugged fells of Cumbria, to the Yorkshire Dale, onto the flat land of Lincolnshire via the villages of Cambridgeshire, before arriving in London at their old school, Dulwich College.

The money raised will go towards the charity, Harrison's Fund, named after a nine-year-old from Surrey who was diagnosed with Duchenne.

The team consists of Nick Taussig, Nick Rucker, Luke Bordewich, Dan Croft, Rob Dembrey, Joe Quigley, Dave Morrison, Nick Lawson, Chin Nicholson and K, 22.

The group is being sponsored by Rolling Dynamics and iCycle Events.

Mr Tausig said: “Nick Rucker came to me last year, after my two sons were diagnosed, and said, 'Let's do something for your boys.' The Big Bad Ride will see a big bunch of us, many Old Alleynians, cycle from Edinburgh to London.

"We're doing this not only for Theo and Oskar, but also for every other Duchenne boy. There's no treatment or cure, though scientists are getting closer. But they need our help to finally beat this.

“Duchenne is a big bad disease for many boys. It wastes away their muscles, forcing them off their feet and into wheelchairs, and often killing them before they become men. As well as donations we are still looking for people to join us.

"You need be neither particularly fit nor experienced. All that's required is will and determination, and a deep sense of humour.”

The goal is to get as much money as possible into the hands of the world’s best researchers, who are working to find a cure for the condition.

The group will begin their cycle on Thursday, September 24.

To support the team visit www.justgiving.com/TheBigBadRide/