Miranda Cole is ready to put her troops to work and it is not going to be easy.

Cole, who works at the Fitness Center at the Oil Heritage District Community Centre, has organized the second annual Tour of Duty, a 24- hour fitness event to raise money for families of people serving in the military.

Five teams, including one made up of town staff and councilors, have signed up to ride the bicycles in the fitness center for a full 24-hours without a break starting Friday night at 7pm.

Cole, who teaches the spin classes at the fitness center, says this will not be a leisurely ride, she plans to put them through their paces.

“There is not going to be any just sitting there,” she laughs saying she’ll be making the teams cycle as if it were a spin class.

But Cole is not all drill sergeant, she plans to pop in a movie and offer the cyclists some popcorn between 2 am and 5 am when the riders bodies are aching for sleep.

But she says many of the teams are pumped through the whole event. “The main motivation is for the cause,” Cole says. “These people over there are fighting for us. We shouldn’t be complaining to get up at 2 am and pedal for a while.”

Last year about $3,000 was raised for local military families in the area. The Royal Canadian Legion distributed the money equally among the families.

If you can’t muster a team, Cole says people who would like to be part of the Tour of Duty can come in the 24-hour period from Friday at 7 pm to Saturday at 7pm and ride one of the bicycles for a $10 donation.