The Bickley family is planning a very special sponsored bike ride this summer.

Alan Bickley and his wife, Sue, from Compton, near Winchester, are hoping as many cyclists as possible will join them for a fun bike ride on Sunday, June 13th, to raise money for the "Hello Martha" Fund.

The fund was set up after the death of Martha Bickley - the couple's daughter, who died of cystic fibrosis two years ago.

They hope to attract 100 riders, who will each cycle up to 100 miles and raise £1 per mile.

Dentist, Alan (49), of Bickley & Forster, St James' Terrace, Winchester, has planned three routes, each beginning at Winchester Rugby Club, which will take participants on loops of around 35 miles long covering country lanes, off-road terrain and including part of the "Test Valley Way".

"The idea is that people will do all three - one loop each - but people may just do as many miles as they possibly can", said Alan.

"In theory, the bike ride should raise £100,000 but we haven't really set a target."

The event will be the second fund-raising outing for the "Hello Martha" Fund this year, which has already made around £45,000 since its conception.

It provides respite care for families affected by the disease.

In September, dental nurses, Stacy Taylor and Melanie Aubert, will be taking the plunge - literally - when they hope to raise at least £1,000 for the charity by descending 12,000ft in a sponsored sky dive.

"I'm in awe of them doing it. There's no way I'd jump out of an aircraft," said their boss, Alan.

Sue Bickley (45), who will be cycling this summer, said it was important to the couple that the charity event was as much about having fun as anything else.

"Martha was very positive and very upbeat and we always promised that any fund-raising we did would have to involve a fun element," she said.

Mother of two, Mrs Bickley, said Martha's great love of life was with her right up until she died, aged 10, and she went swimming a week before, despite needing oxygen and morphine.

"She practised that philosophy despite medical impairments and made the most of her life," she added.