Barry Brennan completed the gruelling 198-mile charity ride from Bangor in three days, but his venture was not all plain sailing.
The 22-year-old, and his friend Andrew Robb, 19, took a wrong turn and had to spend a night sleeping in a street in Dumfries, Scotland.
After running out of money, the pair had to survive for 24 hours on a packet of mints.
“It’s been quite an adventure,” said Mr Brennan, who grew up in Simonside, South Shields. We planned to do it all in two days, but we took the wrong turn in Scotland.
“Fortunately we had our tent with us, and we had to spend an extra night in Dumfries. We had no money with us so we pitched up the tent at the end of a street.”
The pair set off on the 20-mile journey from Mr Brennan’s new home in Bangor, to Belfast last Friday, before boarding a ferry to Stranraer.
They were due to complete the remaining 171-mile stretch of the journey to South Shields on Saturday, but the unexpected detour meant they didn’t get to Simonside until Sunday afternoon.
Mr Brennan said: “We didn’t expect to get lost, but it happened, and we had to survive on mints for 24 hours. We’re pleased that we’ve done it, and it was satisfying when we finally reached South Shields.”
The ride was in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, after Mr Brennan was touched by the plight of a friend in Northern Ireland, who lost two of his daughters to the disease.
Mr Brennan moved to Bangor with his mother, Karen, at the age of 18.
He works as a volunteer for St John Ambulance, and is due to start a training course in nursing in Belfast in September.
The former pupil at the Margaret Sutton School in Ashley Road, South Shields, is staying with relatives in South Tyneside before returning to Northern Ireland.
If you would like to support Mr Brennan’s fundraising mission, call 0754 780 4000 or make a donation at The Cranny pub at Harton Nook.
joseph.tulip@northeast-press.co.uk
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