IT'S a towering challenge - especially if you are 77 years old.

Newport pensioner Stan Lewis aims to cycle from the Blackpool Tower to the Eiffel Tower to raise money for charity.

Mr Lewis, 77 - with his 51-year-old son Peter - have set themselves the challenge of completing the 500-mile journey in aid of The National Kidney Research Fund (NKRF) in Wales.

They will join seven other cyclists from all over Wales on the annual Tower to Tower cycle ride, taking place between August 31 and September 7.

Mr Lewis is a veteran cyclist and has cycled in France on numerous occasions, but never in the capital.

He said: "Paris is our focus. We're really looking forward to it, cycling under the Eiffel tower and up the Champs Elysees at the end will be fantastic."

Mr Lewis, from Blossom Close in Langstone, says he is treating the ride as a holiday.

"My age isn't going to help me, but I don't think the journey should present me with any problem. I've been riding for many years and still do as much cycling as I can fit in. "A cyclist's training is cycling so to me this is a lovely holiday in France."

This year the NKRF is committed to funding research and buying equipment. Over the last five years it has raised more than £700,000 for research grants.

Mr Lewis hopes to raise more than £1,500.

He said: "I've cycled to raise money for all sorts of causes, the British Heart Foundation and charities for the blind.

"Any charity that raises money for people in need will do - I'll do whatever I can to help." The cycle ride starts in Blackpool and takes in Whitchurch, Worcester, Oxford, Surrey, and crosses the English Channel at Newhaven.

Once in France the cyclists will reach Paris via Cher-bourg and Beauvais.

NKRF fundraising manager Tom Irving completed last year's Tower to Tower cycle ride. He said: "The 2002 Tower to Tower cycle was the best week I've ever had.

"The cycling is hard at times but the social side is superb, people who didn't know each other on the Saturday are best of mates by Monday morning.

"Reaching Paris is abs-olutely fantastic - champagne under the tower and cycling up the Champs Elysees, waving our Welsh flags, was such a buzz.

"The memories will last a lifetime."

If you would like to help Mr Lewis and his son by making a donation, please telephone Tom Irving on 01633 889407.

PICTURED: Stan Lewis, 77, from Langstone, who is cycling from Blackpool Tower to the Eiffel Tower for National Kidney Research