Sarah died in July 2011

A BRIDE-TO-BE and her fiancé are embarking on a challenge of a lifetime in memory of her bridesmaid who died of cystic fibrosis (CF).

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Gill Banks and Dave Cook are cycling 26 mountain bike trails in 26 weeks as they bid to raise £2,000 for charity.

The pair will complete one trail each weekend in the run up to their wedding in April, starting in Bristol and ending in Fort William.

Gill’s cousin, Sarah Murray, was due to be a bridesmaid but died at the age of 26 last July.

And the reality of their efforts became all the more clear after a former colleague, Hayley Dowdell, died shortly before Christmas after a battle with CF.

Gill and Dave, who live in St Georges, were fellow Weston college lecturers and he admitted her death has spurred them on since starting at the beginning of January.

He said: “It has gone really well so far. Gill hadn’t really got on a mountain bike before October and so every trail we have done has pushed us a little bit more.

“We have fallen off our bikes a few times but that’s part of the challenge.

“At a few stages we could have turned back and said why are we doing this but Hayley’s death has brought it all to light again.”

The pair have currently raised around £700 and hopes to treble that amount by the end. The money would help with medical care and supporting families deal with CF.

He said: “We are trying to raise awareness of the condition and trying to promote it so others can understand what people are going through.

“One in every 10 people I have spoken to about cystic fibrosis seem to know someone who has it or had it.”

Dave provides regular updates of their trails at http://www.cfcharityfundraiser.blog.com and donations can be made at http://www.justgiving.com/dave-cook06