Reader’s letter: Memories stirred

Well done to the 35 riders who completed a 200-mile cycle challenge for charity and also for raising £52,673 for Breast Cancer Now — an admirable achievement by them all.

What prompted me to write was the distance of 200 miles on a bike by non-competitive cyclists.

That stirred a memory for me.

Back in the day, when being a lot younger and fitter, my brother Roger and I rode back from Bournemouth — a distance of 200 miles — in less than 11-and-a-half hours.

This on a bog-standard racing bike.

Just two teenage kids on almost traffic-free roads.

I do remember that it rained for the first 60 miles.

Where did all that fitness go? — C. HOBBY, Newark.