THIS week, as you settle down comfortably to read your favourite weekly newspaper, I would ask you to please spare a thought for a group of fundraisers, now more than two thirds of the way into their challenge of a lifetime.

On July 15, six members from the Boundary 500 Motorcycle Group set off from Saltburn to visit 15 countries in 15 days as part of a Baltic Challenge, which includes navigating their way across the Arctic Circle, all on motorbikes and all in the name of charity.

The Baltic Challenge was the brain child of advanced biker Paul Duce who was looking for an innovative way to raise funds and profile for Border Terrier Welfare, but he is only one member of the "A-for-Adventure-team".

The face of the challenge is none other than a small felted Border Terrier, Mini Jess (aka MJ), who was commissioned and handmade in the image of Paul’s own dog, Big Jess.

Celebrities in their own right, both Jess’s now have their own social media pages where progress reports are being posted throughout the trip which is due to end on July 31. They would, I am sure, love you to check them out on the following links: Mini Jess on FaceBook: Mini Jess Duce; Mini Jess on Twitter: @MiniJessBT and Big Jess on Twitter: @JessTBorder.

At the time of writing, a fantastic £13,463.76 has already been raised in aid of Border Terrier Welfare, making this the single biggest fundraising event in the charity’s 34-year history.

In the last 12 months alone, Paul tells me that more than 170 Border Terriers have been helped by BTW at a cost to the charity of £77,000 and this includes, wherever possible, keeping Border Terriers in their own homes, helping out with things such as vet care and fees where owners are in genuine need.

En-route, Mini Jess will be accompanied, as always, by her side kick Bob, a small, stuffed, but none the less very handsome, Beagle.

Over recent months, this dynamic duo have been preparing for their trip by accompanying Paul, aboard his Triumph motorbike, all over the UK, visiting places such as Father Ted’s home on Craggy Island where you can see from the photos, both MJ and Bob found their way up on to the bridge during the ferry crossing.

More recently, while the "Baltic Chariot" checked in for new wheels and a pre-challenge service in York, the pair took themselves off on a little sight-seeing tour which included the city walls and York Minster, also pictured.

After setting sail from Hull on July 15, if all has gone according to plan, when you are reading this the group will be navigating their way across Poland.

In total the challenge will encompass England, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland and the Czech Republic, an estimated road distance of about 5,100 miles which I am following avidly on my GPS tracker link.

Many places of interest will be visited en-route, including, Hamburg, Gothenburg, The Troll Ladder (Norway), The Arctic Circle Visitors Centre (Norway), St Petersburg (Russia), Brandenburg Gate (Berlin) and also The Hill of Crosses, a sacred place of pilgrimage in Lithuania.

Here, the group plan to leave their own small wooden cross, embellished with horseshoe, and several name tags, donated by dog owners who have requested that they be placed at this much revered site in memory of their own four-legged companions.

The cross bears the words, "In memory of all our fur friends OTRB. Not gone, just up ahead waiting" and signed simply, "BTPosse".

Anyone wanting to find out more about the A-Team and their mega Baltic Challenge can visit everyclick.com/baltictour where donations will be accepted up until October 2, 2016.