If you’ve been diligently reading BM over the last few days, you’ll probably have seen the story of one of Scope’s charity rides in Tanzania. If you’ve read it, you’ve probably gathered that these rides are typically no picnic – the term “challenge” is, in this case, entirely appropriate.

The charity runs quite a few of these things, and one of its new ones is a 320km ride through the heart of Brazil. It takes place from 24 April to 4 May 2005, giving you plenty of time to work on reaching the £2,600 sponsorship target. Scope’s route description certainly sounds promising: “This spectacular bike challenge takes us into the heart of Brazil as we cycle 320km over 6 days through beautiful colonial towns, past coffee and sugar plantations, baroque churches and over spectacular mountain landscapes. We finish on the Copacabana Beach in the carnival city of Rio, with its jungle-covered mountains and island-studded sea. All the while you’ll be raising much-needed funds for Scope’s work with people with cerebral palsy (a physical condition that affects more than 1,500 babies born in the UK each year) and return home with everlasting memories from your adventure of a lifetime.”

There’s an entry fee of £199. The minimum sponsorship includes flights, accommodation and so on as well as the contribution to Scope – you don’t, of course, have to stop fundraising when you hit the target. Scope will supply tons of help and advice for reaching that target. The money goes towards Scope’s work with sufferers from cerebral palsy, a condition that affects more than 1,500 babies born in the UK each year.

You can find out more about the Brazil trip at the Scope website or call 0800 0191 200. And to get the ball rolling, the first three people to sign up and mention Bikemagic will get a hundred quid head start from us…