Charity cyclist in Himalayan challenge

Eric Waters, from Harrogate, will set off from Manali in the Kashmiri region of northern India on August 15 and will cycle 400 miles across the mountain range to Ladakh.

The 11-day journey will see him reach altitudes of over 18,500ft as he travels along the highest motorable road in the world to raise money for Neema Crafts, which provides employment and training for disabled people in Tanzania.

Mr Waters said: “I am very much in the final stages of preparations and each day that it gets closer, it gets more exciting. I definitely feel my training has gone very well and I’m now doing high altitude training on reduced oxygen at my local gym.

“It’s difficult to imagine a challenge harder than this because of the altitude. To be doing 400 miles – the equivalent of London to Edinburgh – at an altitude higher than Everest Base Camp on a bike is no mean feat. It’s hard to imagine that I could take on anything more strenuous and difficult than this.”

Despite only taking up cycling four years ago, Mr Waters has already ridden over the Alps from Italy to Harrogate, raising £8,500 for the same charity.

Mr Waters said: “I have been to the Neema Crafts workshop in Tanzania twice to volunteer and seen the hardships faced by disabled people in other parts of the world.

“It is therefore particularly appropriate that I can use my good health and fitness to take part in this ride to raise money to fund the free physiotherapy programme recently started at Neema Crafts for disabled children who cannot walk properly or cycle.”

Mr Waters hopes to raise at least £2,000, which will pay a physiotherapist’s wages for a year.

To support Mr Waters’s challenge visit www.justgiving.com/Eric-Waters