Cyclist endures seven days of rain for £3,000 charity ride

Colin Dobson completed the 888-mile ride from Land's End to John O'Groats in 64 hours and 52 minutes over an eight-day period.

He did it in memory of his mother-in-law Brenda Fox, who died of the muscle-wasting condition in 2004.

Mr Dobson, who lives in Hemsworth, near Wakefield, cycled an average of 111 miles a day over the eight days, burnt more than 55,000 calories and ascended more than 33,000ft.

His unsupported trip, which he did alone, was made doubly hard by some appalling weather.

He said: "It rained, quite persistently and sometimes torrentially for all except one of the days.

"On day one I was battling gale force winds of up to 60mph that were blowing me into speeding traffic on the A30 in the South West. A puncture while speeding at almost 40mph down a hill almost made me lose control and I was inches from being hit by a lorry behind me."

On day three he suffered a knee injury but battled on regardless.

"My left knee made a snapping sound and I was in absolute agony. I couldn't press down on that knee or pedal for over an hour.

"Eventually, the knee loosened up and although I did manage to carry on, I had to take it easy for the remainder of the trip."

On day five he narrowly avoided hypothermia in the Cumbrian mountains when a storm broke.

"My clothes and kit were soaked through and the temperature had dropped to only seven degrees. My body temperature had dropped due to the wet clothes and strong cold wind that was blowing.

"In the isolated mountains I had to wave down a passing Camper Van and ask for a warm up. They gave me shelter and dried some of my clothes while the worst of the storm passed."

Although he wore waterproof clothes, he was soaked to the skin every day.

But after a couple of week's rest he will begin planning for next year's ride – cycling to Africa, covering 2,000 miles and taking in four countries.