A pair of pedalling fundraisers have cycled from Baldock to Paris and back in five days to raise more than £3,000 for people affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
Baldock physiotherapist Garry Tucker, 55, took on the 500-mile challenge to help Alzheimer’s Research UK in memory of his father, who spent his last days living with a very serious case of the disease.
And he completed the marathon ride alongside his friend David Sharp, 53, who is a director of Letchworth contracting firm DB Sharp & Sons.
It was cycling all the way, apart from the cross-channel ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe – and Garry and David were carrying all their own gear with them.
“Because we weren’t supported at all, if anything ever went wrong it was down to us,” said David.
“It was all quite tough, but the first leg from Baldock to Newhaven was particularly difficult. France wasn’t as bad because it’s quite flat.”
And 24 extra miles were added to the distance when David left a bag containing his passport and other gear at a stop in France.
“I didn’t realise until 12 miles later,” said David. “Luckily the girl behind the counter had kept it.”
Garry and David cycled through the centre of Paris, taking in the Eiffel Tower, Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe, then spent a night there before starting the return trip.
The hardest part of the whole journey, David said, actually came back in England when they cycled through London.
“It was a nightmare,” he said. “It was so busy and we were all tired out by then, but after that it was fine.
“It was really brilliant to come back and have that welcome party to meet us after all that way.
“We finished where we’d started, in the High Street at the war memorial.”
It’s not the first time Garry and David have completed a challenge like this – they were part of a trio that rode from Land’s End to John O’Groats for Cancer Research UK in 2013.
A year later they and two others cycled from Malin Head to Mizen Head in Ireland in aid of the same charity.
If you’d like to make a donation to this latest fundraising drive, go to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Legends_B2P2B.
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