Pair's European cycle odyssey raises £6,000
TWO friends who cycled 1,600 miles across Europe over 40 days have raised £6,000 for Parkinson's Research.
Paul Winn and Ben Runciman (both 65) set off from Dieppe in France on April 21 and cycled all the way to Santiago De Compostela in Spain, arriving nearly six weeks later on May 29.
Along the way they stayed at 40 different places and met people from all over the world.
Paul, who lives in Moulton, and Ben, from Weston, became friends when Paul was the vicar at Weston.
Paul said: “We started riding a few miles together several days a week as a bit of exercise.
“Then a couple of years ago we started thinking about doing this.
“It’s taken us this long to get round to it!
“The trip was fantastic. We visited so many incredible and interesting places.
“The biggest highlight had to be getting there.
“We didn’t believe we had actually done it because it’s such a long way.
“Getting to the top of the Pyrenees was a real achievement. It was a two-hour climb but it wasn’t as steep as we expected.
“We met an incredible number of pilgrims on the route, particularly from Le Puy en Velay, and most of them were walkers.”
The men, who organised the trip completely off their own backs, rode mainly along the pilgrimage route.
Paul added: “We didn’t have any back up or anything. It was just us and our bikes.
“It was one hell of an experience, not easy, but absolutely amazing.”
The men decided to support Parkinson’s Research because Ben suffers from the disease and are really pleased with the amount they have raised.
Paul added: “We’re up to 6,000 so far and the money is still coming in.
“The support we have received has been absolutely fantastic.”
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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