Do you remember Andrew ?

He has just arrived in yorkshire after a massive cycle ride from where he works in Gib.

He has cycled the length of Spain, France and half of the UK.

He has done it all for charity, have a look at his blog HERE

I am sure he would be pleased if you decide to make a donation to the worthy cause he is supporting.

Well done Andrew on your massive achievement, I have driven down a lot of the mountains you have had to cycle up, so know the struggle you have had.

What a brilliant achievement and for such a worthy cause.

Well Done Andrew.

Rosemary

Wow - what an amazing man - well done Andy - you are still an inspiration to so many on here

Well done.

An example to all.

I'd be interested to hear from him how he got on with it .... I have just accepted a challenge to ride from Lands End to John O'Groats next year for the same reasons

Well done Andrew

YOU DID WHAT!!!!????

I know, I know.
These things have to be done .... but usually by someone else

you need your bumps read - including the new one you got falling off that ladder

By riding do you mean - riding in your car lol

What a miserable load of gits on this site now, only four people posted on this thread, probably cos there`s not much to argue about on it.
I can see why he don`t come on here much anymore.

Impressive achievement, was he on a time limit as well?

Don`t think he was on a tight time limit, but he did it all on his own, no support vehicle to help with punctures etc.
He only had a few weeks getting used to the local mountains before he left, he found it harder in the cold there than in the high temps here.

Yeah, I read that.

He was probably on a time limit to do the trip within his 3-week holiday, he must be back at work by Monday.

JDR, Thanks very much for posting this. Yes this is me, who did the cycle trip from Gibraltar to Yorkshire, totally unaided and unsupported. Unsupported not just on the trip but during all the training as well. Had no official training what so ever. Just took my bike around some of the mountains around me, cycling around to Casares, Gaucin, Ronda etc.

I must say, it was amazing to cycle through the whole of Spain. I set off from Gibraltar and headed up past San Roque, past Castellar, to Gaucin, to Ronda, then out towards Montoro near Cordoba. Through to Ciudad Real, Passing Madrid on the east side (didnt go through Madrid itself) then continuing north towards Pamplona, then over the pyranese to Irun then crossing into France.

From there it was up the west coast of France to Rochefort. I also took a trip to La Rochelle, then up to Caen where I took the overnight ferry to portsmouth. Then it was up north through Oxford, Leicester Nottingham and to my home town in Rotherham.

Absolutely amazing. I tell you something as well. Spain definately had to be the best country to cycle through. Really really needed my limited spanish though. Once out of the tourist costas, thats it. You really need the spanish. Breakfast was a pain tho. It seems all you can get is Tomatoe spread on Toast. Not great when burning over 3000 - 4000 calories per day on cycling. Was good to get a proper English fry up once I'd reached the UK!

I could sit and talk about Spain all day. It was so diverse. One day cycling through such barron almost desert lands. Just yellow and dry. Next day Im cycling through plush green hills with lakes. Just incredible! However Spain had its huge challenges. Huge mountains. My highest peak was over 1100m. Also incredible head winds going towards Pamplona. Was like cycling through treacle. Was also such a long country as I was heading north east from Gibraltar to the French border.

There wasnt really anywhere to camp as such, but I found quite a few little Hostals. Hostal with an A is basically a small family run hotel. I was getting rooms for as little as 25 euros a night. Usually just small rooms above bars or restaurants. But absolutely perfect for what I was needing.

Most of the roads were generally quiet and made for some good cycling. The heats were pretty mad tho. Up to 45c at one point. But to be hoenst, I got on better with that than I did when i got into cold drizzly grey wet UK and it was 10c with a really chillly northern wind. That was just hell. I just kept lapping the sun cream on in Spain. Just kept getting attacked by flies in some areas tho with the heat.

So yes, absolutely amazing achievement! Im so elated, I cant even believe i did it myself! Before anyone asks, yes I am flying back at the weekend! So far raised nearly 2500 pounds for Jane Tomlinson Cancer Appeal and the Gibraltar Society for Cancer Relief. So all good there!

Arrived back to my home town onto the street where I grew up - to a heros welcome. Absolutely phenominal the amount of people that turned out to that. Ive been in tonnes of newspapers and done radio interviews and even been on ITV Regional News too! All thanks to my older brother who co-ordinated the event from the UK and who dealt with getting all the PR and publicity sorted out.

Mitzy, LEJOG is a good run. Never done it. If you want any tips, just PM me and Ill be happy to try and answer any of your questions and give any guidace from my own experience.

As I said before....well done Andrew.

What a wonderful experience to have had, something you will never forget and never regret. We were amazed when we read the fact that you did this ride and now reading that you did it solo with no support we are even more amazed.

Be proud of yourself, you have the right.

Congratulations once again.

Rosemary and Graham