Cyclist completes 980-mile challenge for charity

CYCLIST Dean Banfield completed his massive 980-mile cycle challenge last month, taking part in the Deloitte Ride Across Britain, cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats in just 9 days.

The former pupil of Forest & Sandridge Primary School and George Ward School, raised over £2,500 for CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading charity for young cancer patients and their families.

Dean finished in 475th place, out of 800 cyclists, and was greeted at the finish line in John O’Groats by proud parents Ros and Philip Banfield.

Dean said, “The ride was a fantastic experience, meeting other cyclists from all over the UK and beyond, all raising money for different charities. The scenery we cycled through was breath-taking, it was extremely hard work but was so worthwhile. The finish of day 2 was great because we stopped for the night at Bath University and I was so lucky to be able to see my wife and daughter, who saw me cross the finish on day 2, that little extra boost that I needed to continue.  

“The weather on the whole was good, just a couple of wet days and one very cold night/morning in the Cairngorms, waking to ice inside and out of our tents. We just managed to finish the ride before Storm Ali hit our shores.”

Dean would like to thank everyone who has sponsored him. Anyone who is interested and would like to add to this total, can do so by texting: BAN79 and the amount you would like to give to 70070.