CYCLING CHALLENGE: Inverness cyclists, Greg Drew and Norman Agnew, go the extra mile for the RNLI Yellow Welly appeal, with the help of Bruce Ray and his culinary skills
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Two Inverness cyclists and a support team of one have achieved the cycle of their lives.
Taking a fundraising trip for the RNLI Yellow Welly appeal, friends Greg Drew(37) and Norman Agnew (60), from Lentran cycled from John o' Groats to Land's End – a mammoth 1700miles.
The friends, who met at a spin class at the Aquadome in Inverness have managed to raise £8631, and the total is still rising.
RNLI area manager Bruce Ray, took two weeks of holiday to be the support team, and thanks to a past career as a chef served
Mr Drew, from Scourgie, is by day an operations manager for Nordex, but loves the outdoors and fitness - but even for someone who enjoys cycling, this was a test of his endurance.
The men, who set out on July 24, cycled around 150 miles each day - taking just over 11.5 days to finish the challenge – quicker by half a day than they had planned.
Mr Drew said: "When we were out training, Norman and I were thinking about challenges that we could really do to challenge us.
"We thought we could do John o'Groats to Land's End, and then we had the idea of coming back up again. We then wanted to make sure we did it for a good cause - and we thought because of all the good work they do, we would support the RNLI.
"The worst part was Cornwall, it was chaotic, with all the traffic on roads and then Storm Everett struck. It was a shame as we had been really looking forward to getting there.
"When we were on the way home, it was tougher. We both picked up injuries with sore knees and Achilles heels injuries. It was a struggle for the last three or four days."
Mr Drew describes how family, friends and colleagues pulled together to keep the men going.
He said: "Coming back through the Highlands was wonderful. We got a video message sharing support for us – the World's Strongest Man Tom Stoltman was even on it to encourage us. It really helped.
"At Moy people were out on the street cheering us on, that was so good to see. And then in Inverness on Harbour Road, the Riddle Brothers and round-the-world cyclist Jenny Graham joined us.
"That really boosted us."
Mr Drew thanked everyone who supported and helped with the fundraising, especially to Mr Ray for his exceptional cooking and flapjacks.
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READ: A free project has been launched in Inverness to get people back out on their bike
