TWO Royal Navy officers plan to cycle from Falmouth to London in just 38 hours at the beginning of next month, in an attempt to beat the time taken by coach and horse in 1805 to deliver news of victory at Trafalgar.

Commander Pascal Patterson and Lieutenant Commander Dan Waskett, who is with RNAS Culdrose’s 824 Naval Air Squadron, will be recreating the epic dash from Cornwall to the capital carried out by Lieutenant John Richards Lapenotiere.

Averaging around seven miles an hour, in legs of ten to 15 miles between coaching inns, he arrived in the heart of London after 271 miles to announce: “We have gained a great victory. But we have lost Lord Nelson.”

Dan and Pascal – who joined the Royal Navy on the same day in 2005 and have remained firm friends ever since – hope to beat his time to raise awareness of mental health in the Armed Forces.

Pascal, 40, who serves as the UK strategic command, said: "Both Dan and I will cycle the entire distance, side by side, entirely unsupported, which means no support crew or vehicle.

"Just us and a very long open road, our challenge is firmly in the 'ultra-endurance' cycling category. To give an idea, the cycling equivalent of running a marathon is cycling 100 miles – we will be doing almost three times that distance in a compressed timescale without support."

The two-day ride, which will begin at Falmouth's Trafalgar Way location at The Moor at 9.30am on April 1, is a precursor to much greater challenge when the Naval officers plan to pedal 5,000 kilometers across the USA this summer.

Commander Pascal Patterson in training

Commander Pascal Patterson in training

Dan and Pascal have already completed Land's End to John O' Groats in a fortnight, and hope to cycle between San Diego in California and St Augustine in Florida in just 35 days with the goal of raising £35k for the Royal Navy Royal Marines Charity, a charity that provide mental health support to serving personnel, veterans and their families.

"A great friend of mine died in military service not long ago. The charity offered wonderful support to his family, during what was an incredible difficult time," said 39-year-old Dan, who trains helicopter observers – navigators/sensors/weapons specialists – flying Merlin Helicopter with 824 Naval Air Squadron in Helston.

"I see the rides as my way of saying thank you, and hopefully helping them in turn to help someone else in need."

You can follow the two riders' efforts at www.starsandspokes.com or on Instagram : @starsandspokes. You can also donate to their cause via www.justgiving.com/starsandspokes