A WOUNDED Monmouthshire soldier will be taking part in a national cycling challenge to raise money for military charity Help for Heroes, and is encouraging the public to ride alongside him.

Lee Matthews, 26, of Magor, now a veteran, will be taking part in Hero Ride 2015, Help for Heroes' flagship national challenge which will be taking place in June this year.

He will be setting off from the Help for Heroes Recovery Centre, Tedworth House in Wiltshire, and will complete the 100-mile journey to Windsor in one day.

Cycling alongside wounded heroes, thousands of supporters will be riding from all over the country, including start points at the recovery centres in Tidworth, Plymouth, Colchester and Catterick, and will unite in Windsor on Sunday 21st June.

Lee thought he'd never do sport again after being diagnosed with a rare and hard-to-treat condition called visceral somatic syndrome.

He served with 4 Regt Army Air Corps before being diagnosed and now suffers constant shooting pains, severe spasms, muscle loss, fatigue and ultimately mobility problems.

For a while the pain seemed to control his life – he couldn't work, his marriage broke down and he suffered severely with depression and anxiety.

However, at the start of 2013 he tried wheelchair basketball and the physical activity, as well as the comradery from being a part of a team again, has helped Lee to turn his life around.

Lee will be taking part in his first Hero Ride this year using a hand-cycle.

"It is a way of saying thank you to Help for Heroes for all it has done for me," said Lee.

"It gave me a new lease of life and I want to raise awareness of its life-changing work.

"As a soldier you are trained to 'be the best' so my physical injuries hit me hard.

"Completing Hero Ride will be another way to demonstrate you can achieve anything, no matter what your injury.

"To ride alongside fellow injured comrades, all of whom have experienced equal difficulties will be inspiring."

Lee will be completing the West 100 Sportive ride, which will cover from Tedworth House to Windsor in one day, riding through Wiltshire, Hampshire and Surrey, including Box Hill.

The charity hopes to have 2,000 riders coming together at Runnymede Air Forces Memorial near Englefield Green, one of the largest Second World War Royal Air Force memorials, before riding together the final miles and ending at Windsor Racecourse.

The specially designed routes have various distance options so there is something for everyone.

To ride with heroes like Lee, sign up to Hero Ride at http://www.heroride.org.uk">www.heroride.org.uk and for more information about Help for Heroes, visit http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk">www.helpforheroes.org.uk