THE Pyrenees straddle the borders of France and Spain and have been a challenging obstacle for intrepid climbers for centuries.

But one Swindon man recently decided to tackle them head on to raise money for a national disability charity.

Ray Stephens, 49, of Dixon Street, travelled to the city of Bilbao, deep in Basque country in Northern Spain, earlier this year.

He was with 70 others taking part in a trans-Pyrenees cycle-ride to raise money for the SCOPE charity, which helps people who have cerebral palsy.

Ray has worked for three years as Swindon Council carer at Tony Long House in Stratton, which caters for people with disabilities.

He said: "I used to do a lot of work for animal welfare, but I got into caring completely by accident and it is the most wonderful job in the world. I wouldn't change it for anything else."

Ray works with people with all kinds of disabilities, aged from 19 to 50.

He took on the challenge because of his support for the charity's work.

Ray added: "I felt it was important to raise the money to help give opportunities that people like you and I take for granted.

"I have never got involved in an event like this before in my life, so I had to work hard to get fit quickly and buy a new bike, taking to the Ridgeway every other day."

The Pyrenees ride took participants on a trip of around 200 kilometres, over some of the most varied terrain on the planet.

Bikes hired for the trip were worn out by the end.

Ray said: "We were really unimpressed with the bikes.

"They served their purpose, but they looked worn out before we even started.

"It was an amazing experience over the whole four days there was not a single flat piece of terrain.

"It was either uphill or downhill and there were even points where you simply couldn't cycle.

"Even the super fit young people had to carry their bikes up steep hills."

They also faced constantly changing weather conditions, with sunny lower slopes giving way to snow-capped ridges.

The ride was not without incident, with Ray falling off at least twice a on terrain which included loose rocks and even boulders.

Ray said: "We all had to be super-fit, although I felt a bit out of my league with all of the younger super-fit people taking part, but even they had accidents.

"One guy missed a corner and fell 30 feet, landing on the only bush for hundreds of yards around. He was very lucky.

"There were only two or three other people my age, but we were all working towards one goal and we all shared a common bond to raise money for the charity."

Ray raised more than £2,000 thanks to huge support, from family, friends, colleagues and local businesses. More than £108,000 was raised by the riders.