Two sisters from New Zealand, Sally Hewlett and Kim McVinnie, aresuffering temperatures of 40C as they pedal up torturously steep hillsin a bid to raise 4.000 USD for malnourished children in Vietnam.

The sisters are on the final leg of their 12-day cyclingchallenge from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City and plan to reach theirdestination by June 22.

Kim McVinnie, 44,signed up to cycle the 700 km from the north to the south of Vietnamafter her 38 year old Auckland-based sister Sally Hewlett, who works atChildFund New Zealand, twisted her arm and had to pull out.

She hadn't been on a bicycle for 25 years and on her first 2km outingsix weeks ago, she thought she was going to die, but rode on through it."I've never done anything like this before, so it's definitely takingme out of my comfort zone," said McVinnie.

Hewlett took on the challenge without any serious cycling training andrather than relying on her fitness, she thought of children she had metin Vietnam as a coordinator for ChildFund's Asia programme as shepedaled along and this motivated her to finish the ambitious trip.

McVinnie, who left her two children and husband at home to keep an eyeon her sister, had never been to Vietnam before but managed to go for acouple of test runs before she left.

On averagethey have been riding about 80km a day, with a day's rest in between andusing some public transport to help them reach their destination.

The money raised from the bike ride will go toChildFund's Vietnam Appeal to reduce malnutrition among children byfeeding them a mix of fortified nutrients called "sprinkles". Thesisters have also been sampling some to help them complete theirchallenge.-VNA