Cyclists cover Britain for charity

A BEXHILL pair have cycled from Land's End to John O' Groats to raise money for charity.

Gary Kobylka, of St James Road, set off from Land's End with friends Paul Smith and Malcolm Molloy on May 30.

Unfortunately, Malcom had to drop out because of injuries after the first day.

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Gary and Paul went on to complete the route, which is the length of Great Britain between the southwest and northeast extremities, in two weeks - a total of 1050 miles by their reckoning.

They raised about 1,500 for the Army Benevolent Fund.

The record for cycling the distance is 44 hours. Andi Rivett, of the Lands End John O'Groats Club, managed to run the route in nine days and two hours.

Gary said: "The first two and a half days over Dover and Cornwall were absolute murder because of the hills. It was 22 degrees."

The pair also faced northerly headwinds, despite current advice agreeing that south to north is best, as the prevailing wind is generally south westerly.

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A typical day for the pair, who camped and used bed and breaksfasts along the route, began at 7am. Breaking for lunch, they covered about 70 miles a day before finishing around 6pm.

Malcolm helped the pair by driving ahead to meet them at various waypoints.

Gary said: "You forget about being tired. You get to the middle of the afternoon and wish it was over but by the time you have had a shower and eaten you forget about it.

"The vast expanse of wilderness once we got up to Yorkshire was maybe the best part. It was 25 miles between shops."