LAUNCESTON'S THE Girls Gone Riding group is gearing up and ready for its charity trip across Cambodia.
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The crew of 17 women amateur cyclists will leave Launceston for Phnom Penh on February 15 for a seven-day cycle around Siem Reap and to carry out charity work in the south-east Asian country along the way.
Avanti Plus Launceston co- owner and organiser Georgina Brown said the group had raised $40,000 and already sent $15,000 to both the Tabitha Foundation and Husk Cambodia.
The women will spend the first day in the Cambodian capital to view work the Tabitha Foundation has done with the money collected in Tasmania since September.
"They have built wells, new homes for some families and sought gainful employment for some of the families as well,' Mrs Brown said.
"I visited Cambodia three years ago and I was humbled by what I saw there ... so I put together an itinerary for a charity-based bike riding trip because I wanted to assist the community.
"I pulled together a riding group in the past year and here we are."
The group will ride 400 kilometres on dirt roads - 60-90kilometres each day.
Once the group arrives in Siem Reap, it will view and assist with the construction of an English classroom out of recycled plastic bottles by Husk Cambodia.
"I'm looking forward to going over there and seeing that we have made a real difference to some people's lives," she said.
"There will be really humid, difficult riding conditions and it will be a real personal challenge for everyone in the team."