CHELTENHAM Town great Bob Bloomer is gearing up for a gruelling charity bike ride.

The former Robins midfielder, coach and caretaker manager is hoping to use pedal power to help him raise more than £2,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

He will cover more than 850 miles in ten days, visiting all of the clubs he covers as part of his role as South West regional officer for the Football League Trust.

He will start out in his home city of Bristol, at the training ground of his old club Bristol Rovers on Friday, May 6.

He will then head south to Portsmouth's training ground in Eastleigh, just outside Southampton.

The next port of call will be Oxford, followed by Swindon, and from there he will head to Cheltenham, where he is held in high esteem after 17 years of dedicated service.

He will then head north to Walsall and Shrewsbury before embarking on what he believes will be the toughest leg of his journey as he covers more than 100 miles in a day en route to Swansea.

Next up will be Cardiff, followed by a brief stop over in Bristol before Devon beckons and he visits Exeter, Plymouth and Torquay.

From there he will head to Yeovil in Somerset, with the finishing post Bristol City's training ground after ten days solid in the saddle.

Bloomer had been looking for a challenge and enjoyed the cycling he did as part of his rehabilitation from a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2008.

"I wanted to do some sort of challenge and it took shape when the Football League chose its charity for this year, which is Marie Curie Cancer Care," Bloomer said.

"A lot of people do Land's End to John O'Groats over ten legs, but I decided to do it with a more personal twist.

"I have always enjoyed cycling and the Giant shop in Bradley Stoke have been kind enough to support me and loan me a bike for training and the ride."

Bloomer is planning to ride on his own, but anyone who wishes to join him for a leg – or even a short section of a leg – would be welcome to join him on his journey.

The Gloucestershire Echo will be catching up with Bloomer again as the big day approaches.

To sponsor Bloomer and help him reach his fundraising target of £2,000 visit www.justgiv ing.com/bob-bloomer.