CYCLING pensioner Elizabeth Loy is half way through a gruelling 200 mile bike ride through Cuba.

Mrs Loy, 71, started the charity bike ride on Saturday to raise money for deaf children.

Along with her 37 year old daughter, Cathryn Armstrong, who lives in Guernsey, Mrs Loy is the eldest in a 35-strong team taking part in the seven day ride for the National Deaf Children's Society.

It is the third charity bike ride for Mrs Loy, who made her first trip from John O' Groats to Land's End in 1998 with her late husband, Brian, for the British Executive Service Overseas (BESO).

Since then, she has also taken part in a cycle ride through Costa Rica in February last year, also for the National Deaf Children's Society.

Mrs Loy says that most of the others taking part are in their 20s and 30s.

"When Adrian, our guide, saw my birth certificate on the last trip he said if he'd known how old I was he might not have let me take part," she said.

"Many of the people I rode with in Costa Rica said I was an inspiration for them which has encouraged me to take part in this Cuban trip.

"They gave me a certificate of special achievement for completing the ride in Costa Rica at such an age."

The team has a guide and three small buses to carry equipment, food and water. The cyclists, who will be mostly going over rough terrain, will stop overnight in local accommodation.

"Last year, we stayed in magnificent lodges with jacuzzis and swimming pools which provided welcome relief after a whole day spent cycling," said Mrs Loy.

Along the way the cyclists will be stopping off at a school for deaf children.

"I have spoken to people who have ridden this route before who have said this is the absolute highlight. I'm taking a jigsaw puzzle with pictures of children on it from different cultures and meeting the children will be a special opportunity," she said.

The cyclists are provided with bikes once they are out in Cuba, but Mrs Loy will be taking along her own cycle seat - complete with a small Union Jack flag.

Mrs Loy, of Fairfax Gardens, Menston, has spent the last few months raising the minimum £2,000 needed to go on the trip and has been cycling up to 40 miles a day to get fit.

She said: "I've organised haggis parties, made and sold greetings cards, wedding flower arrangements and demonstrations and held a coffee morning with a Albanian refugee as the speaker,

"So far I have raised £2,000 and I'm hoping this amount will increase once I return. The people of Menston have been very supportive and have donated kindly to the cause."

The society is a cause dear to her heat and she intends to carry on fundraising, even if she feels this will be her last overseas ride.

For more information about the NDCS visit the website at www.ndcs.org.uk