Yorkshire cyclists complete charity bike ride from Leeds to Nice
The cyclists reached Dover in two days, then journeyed from Calais to Nice, crossing the French Alps' highest pass - the Col de la Bonette - at an altitude of 8,907ft (2,715m).
Talking about the final stretch, Mr Mansell, from Denby Dale, Kirklees, said: "We cycled all the way through the night over the Alps, it had been non-stop cycling. "That was the hardest stretch by miles, but everyone was so psyched up and ready for it."He continued: "It was the very last climb and the biggest - we set off at about 21:00 on Monday after we'd had something to eat and we climbed up to 9,000ft."It was pitch black, it was freezing, quite windy, but it was amazing."Mr Dennis described the EV journey as "exhausting" due to problems finding charging points at the right times along the route.The initial plan was to visit 20 countries in the EV, but the journey also passed through Monaco on the way to Nice.
Mr Dennis - who co-owns a travel agency with Mr Mansell - said at one point they only had 10% battery on the EV and had to divert by 50 miles to find a charger. He said: "We're definitely going to go out and celebrate that we made it, the stress levels that we've been through are ridiculous."Once they found one - at a garage in Macedonia - it was locked up and closed, but a kind staff member allowed his co-driver to charge after "feeling sorry" for them."That got us back to where we had to be, but if it wasn't for that woman we would have not got out of Macedonia, 100%."The challenge - called The Beast Unleashed - has raised more than £50,000 for charity so far.
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The Guardian
3 hours ago
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