AN Andover man has cycled almost 1,100 miles in order to raise money for three different charities.

Mike Newton has cycled 1,091 miles from Land’s End to John O Groats.

At the suggestion of a friend, Mike used the bike ride to raise money for three different charities, MacMillan Cancer Support, Blesma, and Papyrus, managing to raise almost £1,000 for the charities.

Mike wanted to thank everyone who donated, saying: “I’d like to say thank you to all who donated.”

Mike also wanted to thank Brockenhurst Estate Agents for funding part of his journey.

Mike, who is not an avid cyclist, was inspired to complete the journey while reading a book about record breaking British cyclist Mark Beaumont who cycled around the world in less than 79 days in 2017.

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While there are many different routes between Land’s End and John O Groats, the trail that Mike followed was one of the longer ones, taking him along the east coast of the UK.

The journey took Mike 24 days in total, with Mike travelling solo and sleeping in a tent to avoid having to pay for accommodation and so he could set his own pace.

He left Land’s End on May 10 and arrived at John O Groats in Scotland on June 4.

Mike said that his favourite part of the trip was Scotland itself, which he called “great”.

He said: “The sun was shining, which I didn’t expect.

“I had one wet day in Scotland, but apart from that the sun was shining, and it was a joy to cycle up there.”

While Mike does not currently have any plans to do any more cycling challenges on this scale, he did say “never say never.”

Mike continued: “I don’t know yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“It was one of those experience where I did it on my own, I didn’t have any support, I had my own tent, so I camped, not all the way, but it was a mix of camping and accommodation.

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“I cycled what I wanted to cycle, if I took any detours it was because I wanted to, and I didn’t have to answer to anyone for over three weeks.

“It was quite an uplifting experience, in that respect, because I could just do what I wanted to do, which was really nice.”

Mike had three separate fundraising pages, one for each charity that he raised money for.

To find Mike’s MacMillan Cancer Support page visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mike-newton9.

To donate to his Papyrus fundraiser, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mike-newton11.

To find out more about Blesma or donate to Mike’s Blesma fundraising page, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mikecnewton.

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