New cyclist takes on charity cycle ride for Mencap

A man who took up cycling in the pandemic is cycling two lengths of the UK to raise money for charity.

Nick Look, 39, from Yate, near Bristol, has 493 miles left of his 1,680 mile exercise bike challenge which he aims to complete by Easter Sunday.

He has Down's Syndrome and has raised £4,600 so far for the Keynsham branch of Mencap, a charity that supports people with learning disabilities.

He began the challenge on 25 January and cycles at least two hours per day.

Mr Look, who has a number of part-time jobs including working in a cafe, has been shielding during the Covid-19 outbreak and moved in with his mother Rosemary in Pucklechurch.

To keep active he started cycling for a few hours each day on an exercise bike and covered so much distance he decided to set himself a challenge to cycle the distance from John O' Groats to Lands End.

He smashed his original £500 fundraising target ahead of schedule and covers at least 30 miles each day, tracking his progress on a map.

"I just find it totally interesting really, to see the places I've gone past, so I can share the interest with my whole family" he said.

His mother Rosemary said she was very proud of him.

"I think it's been absolutely brilliant, he's just taken to it straight away and doesn't need any encouragement, he just plans it into his day when he's going to do his cycling."

Mr Look, who is a member of Keynsham Mencap, has also lost 10lbs in weight during the challenge.

The charity runs 10 social clubs and provides leisure opportunities for children and adults with autism and learning disabilities, much of which has had to cease during lockdown.

A spokesman for Keynsham Mencap said: "It has been support like this that has helped to keep the charity operational."