TWO MEN from Presteigne and Norton, have recently returned from the ‘adventure of a lifetime’ after cycling from Le Havre in the north of France to Tarifa, the southern most point of Spain - a total distance of 1,818 miles.
Alex ‘Len’ Griffiths and Gwilym Davies left Presteigne on Monday, May 23, heading to Portsmouth and then caught an overnight ferry to Le Havre.
They set off from there the following morning and within the first hour, Gwil had suffered the first puncture of the trip.
After negotiating their way out of Le Havre, they headed west to their first stop and then south to Presteigne’s twin town of Ligne, arriving on May 30.
Here they received excellent hospitality and spent two evenings resting up at the home of the president of the twinning committee.
They then continued south via La Rochelle and Bordeaux until they came to a town called Castelnau Magnoac in the foothills of the Pyrenees.
They stayed here with friends for a few days before tackling the mountains - which was quite an experience.
Cycling through a frightening thunderstorm before arriving at the summit, where they enjoyed terrific views before coming down again at top speeds of up to 44mph.
Once in Spain, they headed for the coast as they figured that it would be cooler than inland and the intense heat was now a major factor in them slowing down quite considerably.
They could only cycle now either first thing in a morning or later in the evening.
They followed the coast through Valencia, Benidorm, Alicante and Almeria and then headed into the hills of the Sierra Nevada and the town of Orgiva.
Here they stayed with friends of Gwil’s parents, who still have family in Norton.
From here it was a final push to Tarifa and after covering 106 miles on the last day, they finally rolled into town in the dark on July 6, 44 days after setting off from Le Havre.
Gwil is currently still in Spain but they would both like to express their gratitude to everyone that helped them to complete their adventure.
Len said: “Special thanks to all of the friends, friends of friends, relatives of friends and people who they had never met before in their lives, who gave them board and lodgings at various points along the way.”
Len is now settling back to Presteigne life but is already planning his next cycle ride.