The 40-hour marathon, which gets underway at 11am on July 25 and continues throughout the Charter Market weekend, sees teams of four or more pedal on a static exercise bike for an hour each.

It will be the eighth time this popular event has taken place. The previous seven have raised around £115,000 towards providing schools, health facilities and clean water supplies to AIDS orphans and their guardians in the rural Ugandan village of Kabubbu.

This year the Bike Ride will be raising funds to provide life-saving support for mothers with AIDS so they can live to raise their families and reduce the future number of orphans in the village.

There is no race or competition involved, just a bit of light exercise and a sponsorship of a minimum of £250 for the hour.

Anyone can take part — there is even a team of pensioners with an average age of 72.

With just over a week to go, 31 of the 40 slots have been filled. This means there are just four teams still needed.

Organiser Geoff Booker, of the Quicken Trust, said the aim was to raise £13,000.

He said, "We recently ran an AIDS testing programme in Kabubbu. More than 500 people took part and 10 per cent had AIDS — many were mothers.

"If we can extend their lives we will have given the children the best chance they can have for their future – a stable childhood with Mum around."

To reserve one of the last four team slots and for full details on the bike ride, contact Quicken Trust's Gillian Clark on 832361.