Bridgnorth best friends take on John o' Groats to Land's End challenge
Two friends from Shropshire are on an 800-mile cycle ride from the John o' Groats in Scotland to Land's End in Cornwall to raise money for a mental health charity.
Ben Hudson and Tim Handley, both 26, set off from the northernmost tip of Scotland on Wednesday.
The pair plan on riding around 120-130 km a day and complete their 16-day Odyssey in Land's End in Cornwall next week.
They are doing the trip with no support vehicle or any rest days and are staying in hotels and hostels en-route.
On Saturday, the pair are expected to arrive in their home town of Bridgnorth, just after the midway point, where mayor Rachel Connelly plans to meet them.
The Shropshire duo are raising money for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).
Speaking from Gretna Green in Scotland on Tuesday, six days into their trip, Ben, a trainee actuary, said: "We've chosen this charity not only to support the amazing services they offer, but also to raise awareness that help is available to those that may be suffering.
"Times are tough for a lot of people at the moment and we hope awareness for this charity will reassure people that they don't have to suffer in silence."
He added that both he and Tim, who works as a botanist, have been friends since they were toddlers and while they enjoyed cycling they had never taken a trip of this magnitude on before.
"We had done ride from Shrewsbury to Bridgnorth but nothing like this. I suppose it started as pub talk, we wanted to do something and came up with a few ideas such as rising to Paris then we heard about the John o' Groats to Lands End challenge," Ben said.
"We then decided to do it for charity and as we have raised so much, we knew we couldn't back out."
He added that despite not having any long distance experience in the saddle, the pair were holding up well.
"The biggest challenge has been the weather," Ben said. "While I understand the weather in Shropshire has been great, we have had torrential rain for the last few days in Scotland."
So far, after five days on their 837-mile trip (1,347 km), the pair have already smashed their fundraising target of £2,000, with more than £3,300 already donated to their JustGiving page. You can support Ben and Tim's epic cycle rise at: justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-hudson11?
