Charity bike riders take in the views… and flies
Charity bike riders take in the views… and flies
They went through six punctures, three pairs of brake pads and about 100 chocolate bars on their epic journey.
It took Richard Whitlock and pal Bob Bickerdike just over 10 days to complete the 944-mile charity bike ride from Lands End to John OGroats, averaging 90 miles a day and hitting a top speed of 42.7mph.
Richard, a grain director with Banks Agriculture, raised nearly £6000 for FARM-Africa, the charity helping deprived people in rural Africa.
Among the high points, he says, was the Devon scenery, The Swan pub in Upton on Severn and the view between the bridges of the Forth of Firth.
Low points, meanwhile, were the flies which "didnt need chewing or spitting out, they usually got swallowed whole" and the overnight stay in a rather basic west country hostelry where the pair ate dried food on the bedroom floor.
"Our backsides and legs ached, we were absolutely worn out by the end of every day but our trip was a very worthwhile exercise for the mind, if not the body."
On your bike… Richard Whitlock.