PETER Empson is training for the race of his life as he became the first person in Bury to sign up for The Great 500 cycle challenge.

Peter, of Kensington Close, Greenmount, will be one of 500 cyclists setting off from five European destinations to end up in Warsaw, Poland, next September.

Peter (41) is raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care who recently recruited a new nurse to their Bury team. Since April this year, the charity has provided more than 1,200 hours of care to patients in Bury and Peter hopes to raise more than £2,000 towards the charity's work.

Peter, who has already started his training regime, said: "It is becoming a way of life - I have charts on the kitchen wall and my children are monitoring my progress as fitness levels go up and my waistline goes down. I'm really looking forward to the event and when I first heard about it I knew it was for me. I thought if I'm going to have a midlife crisis, I might as well do it on a pushbike for charity instead of buying a big fast motorbike."

Peter's family and friends are helping him to raise money and his company, HiFibitz, is supporting him by asking customers to donate to the charity when they buy products online.

To sponsor Peter, or for an information pack on joining The Great 500, contact Stephen Tongue at Marie Curie Cancer Care on 0161 255 2805 or 07798 638 127.