A Pendle man affected by the most common form of sight loss in the UK has completed a 280-mile charity cycling criterium from Colne to the capital.
Malcolm Redford (60), of Lenches Road, Colne, tackled the trek on a tandem with his son James (23) starting on Saturday and finishing, appropriately, at the London Eye on Tuesday to raise money for the Macular Society.
Malcolm suffers from Macular Degeneration, where bleeding behind the eye which causes loss of the central vision, making tasks such as reading, recognising faces and watching television extremely difficult.
In Malcolm’s case, he has had to give up driving, but he is not alone with the condition, as more than 500,000 people in the UK suffer with it in varying degrees.
The father and son duo were not alone on the start line on Saturday either, as family, friends and Olympic Gold medallist and Colne Cyclone Steven Burke were there to wave them off.
Malcolm said: “It was very satisfying to get there and complete an ambition of devising a good cycling route to London, including mile after mile of quiet lanes in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.
“We had fantastic weather all the way, and passed through some very attractive countryside. There were some cultural high spots that are near the route and we could have gone to see if we’d had time.
“We are grateful Steven Burke came along to start us off on Saturday.
“He paid us a great compliment by doing so and I hope we paid him back by managing the distance.”
Prior to the journey, Malcolm said he wanted to show that even suffering with sight loss, it is possible to do things for yourself, be active and make a contribution, on what he believes is a serious mode of transport.
Malcolm added: “It couldn’t have gone better.
For someone, like myself, who is partially sighted, to be able to complete a ride like that, to our capital city through long stretches of idyllic scenery with cream tea stops at renowned centres of culture, and without the tedium of heavy traffic, was wonderful.”