A group of eight men are set to take on an epic religious journey to raise money for charity – by cycling 4,000 miles from London to Saudi Arabia.

The Tour De Hajj (TDH) will see the men cycling the Islamic pilgrimage Hajj – a journey to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims.

They hope to raise half-a-million pounds for infrastructure projects such as schools, places of worship and water wells.

Speaking about the challenge, Junaid Afzal, from Slough, said he met friend Wazeem, from Uxbridge, who said his dream was to cycle to Hajj.

Mr Afzal said: “At first didn’t think much of it but over the weeks the more I thought about it the more I wanted to do it.”

The group – including Mr Afzal, Tahir Dad and Mohsin Arif from Slough, Tahir Akhtar, Safdar Akhtar and Shafiq Ahmed from Maidenhead, Shazad Akbar from Blackburn and Mohamed Wazeem from Uxbridge – will depart on June 7 after Friday prayers from the East London Masjid (mosque) and ride to Medina, hoping to reach there by August 2.

They will cycle for around 56 days, crossing countries such as France, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia.

The group has been training since January and aim to cover 100 miles a week until they set off on their journey and even train during Ramadan, when Muslims abstain from food or drink until sunset.

Mr Afzal added: “It started from a dream. I said to myself before going to sleep ‘if it’s the first thing i think about when I wake up then I’m going try my level best to Insha’Allah make this happen’.

“The rest is history and here we are.”

To donate to the cause, visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/TourDeHajj.