A PRESTON hospital boss is preparing for the ride of her life-250 miles across Israel on a mountain bike.

Carolyn Johnson, (pictured right), chairman of Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is taking part in the November Biblical Bike Ride which aims to raise £250,000 for neo-natal intensive care facilities at Nazareth Hospital, Galilee.

In preparation for her first trip to the Holy Land, Carolyn has been in weekend training in the Lake District. A mother of six, she has been helped by her youngest son Steven, aged ten, with whom she attempts to keep up.

Carolyn will tour the hospital before setting out with 119 multi-national cyclists towards the Dead Sea.

The accommodation on the trip will fall short of five star, ranging from kibbutz to open air. Carolyn reckons: "It will add to the atmosphere."

Each entrant has already pledged £2,000 in sponsorship, which Carolyn has raised with the backing of consultants at the Royal Preston and Green Hospitals. And her most important piece of luggage? 'a padded seat'.

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