Mansfield cyclist saddles up with bus colleagues to cycle from London to Paris in aid of Action for Children

Richard was part of a team from public transport giant FirstGroup that cycled from The Tower of London to Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower and from there to the Eiffel Tower in France.

The gruelling ride took over 72 hours and covered a distance of 227 miles.

The 11 strong team, along with a support team of three, set off from London’s Elizabeth Tower, better known as Big Ben, before making their way to Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth.

An overnight ferry took the team to Caen in north-west France where they set off on the next leg of the challenge which was another 81 miles to the town/village of Evreux.

The final day covered the last 68 miles which took them to the Eiffel Tower in the heart of Paris.

Richard said: ‘It’s fair to say I love riding bikes so when the opportunity to ride to Paris with a bunch of great people came up it was an easy decision to make.

"The fact that we would be supporting a great charity along the way was the icing on the cake.

“The highlight of the trip was the amazing people I met who went above and beyond. I was so well looked after I felt like a celebrity.

"An amazing trip with people I hope will be friends for life.”

Anthony Baigent, Action for Children senior corporate partnership executive, said: “It has been incredible to hear what these dedicated cyclists have achieved.

"Their fundraising efforts as part of our wider corporate partnership have been hugely inspiring and we are so thrilled and grateful that they chose Action for Children as their charity.

"This money will go towards supporting vulnerable children in our projects across the UK and will make a huge difference to a generation still struggling with the effects of the pandemic and the families affected by the current cost of living crisis.”

Donations can be made via this Just Giving link, www.justgiving.com/fundraising/firstbusthreetowers.