John hits the road for cycle challenge

The former Ballyclare High School pupil, who now lives in Hampshire, and his plucky pals set off on their 950-mile journey on May 16, and are aiming to make it to the finish at the northern tip of Scotland by this Sunday (May 22). They are hoping that their endeavours will help raise thousands of pounds for a very worthwhile cause - a charity that fulfils wishes for terminally ill children.

The 27-year-old dentist, who studied at university in Manchester and now works in Southampton, has been training intensively for the ride, but he knows that cycling 135 miles every day for seven straight days isn't going to be easy.

"The idea for the bike ride came from my friend Henry," John explained. "He cycled across the south coast of England last year and suggested that the six of us university friends do the 'End to End'. However, the six of us are complete novices to cycling. I only bought my bike three months ago. Since then we have regularly spent entire weekends riding around the roads and lanes of Hampshire, even touring the Isle of wight and on another day riding from Southampton to Cardiff.

"So far in training I have cycled around 1,600 miles, but that is nothing compared to the challenge of completing 950 miles from Land's End to John o'Groats in seven days. It will involve 5am starts, with around 10-12 hours cycling per day to get to our evening destination, and we will need to consume around 6,000 to 7,000 calories per day just to sustain ourselves."

John and his friends will stay in B&Bs, hotels and hostels as they travel the length of Britain, stopping off in Exeter, Hereford, Preston, Dumfries, Inverary and Inverness before enjoying a welcome rest when they finally reach John o'Groats.

Speaking to the Times just before he set off from Cornwall last weekend, John said: "We are all massively looking forward to the challenge and can't wait to get started.

"All the guys have put a lot of time and effort into the trip and we hope to raise 10,000 for our nominated charity, the Round Table Children's Wish - a fantastic small charity that grants wishes for children with life-threatening and terminal illnesses."

Anyone who would like to help John and his friends reach their fundraising target can make a donation online at www.justgiving.co.uk/950miles7days