Riding off to John O'Groats

The two reached John O’Groats on Sunday after nine days in the saddle and more than 900 miles covered for Chris who started the Ride Across Britain charity cycle at Land’s End, and a slightly shorter journey for Rosabel who joined the mass ride at Penrith, covering almost 450 miles.

Chris, who trained for months for the event and undertook the challenge to mark his 40th birthday, was delighted to reach the end – and with the amount he raised for his charity Alzheimers Research UK, more than doubling his target: “I am incredibly grateful to everyone who sponsored me. I know £2600 will mean a lot to Alzheimer’s Research UK.

“Cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats was an intense but really wonderful experience. For me one of the highlights was the way a group of strangers had to work together through injuries, bike problems and the inevitable low points to get each other through.

“We were incredibly lucky with the weather – the whole of Scotland looked amazing, particularly Glen Coe and the North coast.”

At 18-years-old, Rosabel was the youngest rider in the challenge – and a relative newcomer to cycling.

“It was undoubtedly the hardest thing I have ever done but the people were all so friendly and the organisation was amazing,” she said when she reached home, adding: “The second day where we had to cycle 127 miles was definitely the worst for me but the best part was last day in the morning cycling down from Lairg when the sun was rising and reflecting off the loch.”

She paid tribute to the organisers and a her fellow cyclists: “Without them I would not have been able to do it. I can’t quite believe it is over and I think it is going to take a while to recover.”

Rosabel raised money for Raleigh International before going out to Nepal to work on community projects for five weeks as part of her gap year.