A SELF-CONFESSED “challenge junkie” stopped off in Helensburgh recently as part of a bid to cycle the entire coastline of Great Britain throughout July.

James Whittaker, from Cheshire, and his friend Gary Shaw enjoyed some complimentary frozen watermelon last Thursday, July 22 after reaching Rhu Marina on the latest leg of their epic journey.

More than £48,700 has been raised so far for the charity WaterAid as James aimed to pedal all the way around the 5,700km coast of the country over 31 days last month.

Starting and finishing in St Andrews, James hit Helensburgh on day 23 of his challenge before heading up the western edge of Loch Lomond and on towards Loch Ness.

Writing on his JustGiving page, he said he had been inspired by British long-distance cyclist Mark Beaumont and initially intended to cycle from Cairo to Cape Town to join the Lions rugby tour in South Africa - but Covid spoiled that plan.

To donate to the online fund-raiser search ‘Cycle Blighty 4 WaterAid’ on justgiving.com.

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