A father and his sons are gearing up to cycle 3,751 miles across Canada in less than 14 days.

Mike Noel-Smith, 56, and sons Will, 27, and Harry, 22, of West Yatton, near Chippenham, hope to break the world record of pedalling from Vancouver to Halifax in under 13 days 6 hours and 13 minutes.

It is not the former soldier’s first record-breaking attempt. In 2003 he rowed 2,000 miles into the Indian Ocean before storms battered his boat and brought about a dramatic rescue by the Australian Navy.

In torrential rain and with waves towering 25-foot high and winds beating at 30 knots, Mr Noel-Smith was torn from his seat and smashed his head on the side of the boat.

This time the soft skills manager and consultant is confident he can make it to the end, accompanied by copy editor Will and sports science student Harry in their team Raw Discovery.

They will ride more than four times the distance of Lands End to John O’Groats.

They are being trained by Olympic coach Bill Black and they have managed to reach 126 miles a day.

But they will have to average about 300 miles daily when they set off in June, spending up to 18 hours each day on their bikes.

Mr Noel-Smith said: “We are all very sporty but we are novices at cycling, so to go from zero to 126 miles a day is a good thing. We’re feeling confident.”

They aim to raise at least £100,000 to help StreetInvest support street children around the world.

He said: “These children overcome amazing obstacles everyday just to survive. Although the training is arduous and the journey ahead seems ominous, we remain positive by thinking about these children’s dreams.”

Sponsor them at www.indie gogo.com/projects/raw-disc overy