TWO friends will cycle over 500 miles to raise their goal of £1,000 for charity.
Wayne Bates, 41, of Rose Grove, Wombwell, and his 30-year-old friend Mark Mellor, of Manchester, will be cycling around the Scottish highlands on a 12-day expedition stretching across 523 miles.
Wayne Bates, 41, and Mark Mellor, 30 are avid cyclists who often cycle more than 90 miles every weekend and they felt that they needed a challenge. After learning that Mark had previously completed a cycle challenge, Wayne decided he wanted to give one a go.
“It started off as booking a holiday, but we decided to raise a bit of money for charity while we were doing it,” said Wayne.
"The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is local and we knew the costs to fund it. We would train by going backwards and forwards between each others houses.”
The ride will take eleven days and will take Wayne and Mark through the Scottish Highlands.
“We organised it to that we start and finish at Inverness and have a day off in the middle to rest and do a bit of sightseeing,” said Wayne.
“We are hoping to average about 50 miles per day which should be OK but obviously when you're riding 50 miles every day it will get tiring pretty quickly.
“People usually do this route in motorhomes or on motorbikes so I think to cycle it will be challenging as it is a very hilly route. Mark and I do cycle a lot usually, every weekend we cycle around 90 miles together and I started cycling to work which is great for my health.
"I think because we both cycle a lot we will be OK but 11 days of cycling will take its toll.”
Mark and Wayne will begin their journey tomorrow. To donate search ‘Wayne and Mark’s Excellent Adventure’ on justgiving.com.
