A Norwich man in his 50s is excited and “a bit anxious” for the challenge of cycling an average of 50 miles a day from London to Glasgow to raise money for charity.
Matt Ludford, 57, told the PA news agency he is cycling around 600 miles over 12 days between five centres of Freedom From Torture, a charity supporting survivors.
He said: “I’m looking forward to it but it does feel like a big thing and I am a bit anxious about pulling it off and not getting lost and that sort of thing.”
The specialist nurse in palliative care will be averaging around 50 miles a day to reach his final destination in Glasgow.
Mr Ludford is an experienced cyclist who has been training for the upcoming challenge.
He previously completed a cycling challenge to raise money for the survivors of torture charity around 10 or 15 years ago, in which he rode from St Davids in west Wales to Lowestoft, the easternmost town in the United Kingdom.
The longest ride he has completed was the Dunwich Dynamo, from London to Dunwich in Suffolk, in 2015, which was around 115 miles.
He added: “I actually haven’t done a long trip for seven years, which surprised me slightly because it doesn’t feel that long.”
He said he has organised and funded the challenge himself.
He said: “I draw the line at camping because I didn’t want to have to carry the kit and I quite like a comfortable bed and a shower at the end of the day so I booked accommodation.
“I’m doing a mix of Airbnbs, a couple of nights where family or friends are putting me up, employees or supporters of the charity are putting me up, and there’s some Airbnbs and a couple hostels thrown in.”
He is raising money for Freedom From Torture because he was “really impressed and moved by the work that they do and they strike me as a very professional organisation”.
“Some of the stories of individuals that they’ve helped stir up a real mix of strong emotions, like admiration, pity for what people have been through, and disgust at what’s been done to them.
“You realise how little help people who’ve survived torture who land in Britain actually get.”
