Sixteen Bnei Akiva members were saddle sore on Wednesday after completing a 220-mile charity cycle from its regional offices in Manchester to the London headquarters in Golders Green.

Participants have been preparing since the beginning of the year for the four-day challenge.

One of the riders, Londoner Estée Djanogly, said that while the training had been enjoyable, the event itself had been “very demanding. The pain of riding is excruciating”.

Ben Gross and Joseph Machta left their second-year yeshivah studies early to take part.

Other riders were Miriam Phillips, Katie Woolf, Adina Roth, Tammy Toledano, Edwina Lawford, David Grossman, Benjy Caplan, David Bodansky, Leo Arkush, Levi Silver, Jonny Kaye, Sam Crowne and Rav Warren Kaye. They were supported by a technical team of Abi Broza and Aryeh Grossman.

Each cyclist was required to raise a minimum £500 to take part and Bnei Akiva hopes to raise at least £15,000 from the ride for projects in Israel, including aid for Sderot.