Three determined cyclists are resting their weary feet this week after completing a 185-mile challenge to support a £10m hospice appeal.

Terry Hickman Smith, of Forncett End, and John Wilde, of Talconeston, finished the mammoth ride over four days, starting on Tuesday, April 28 and finishing on Friday, May 1.

Their feat was to raise funds for East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH), who are raising £10m for a purpose-built hospice in Framingham Earl, called the nook, which will replace their outdated facilitiy in Quidenham and care for hundreds of young people with life threatening illnesses.

Mr Hickman Smith, a Wymondham Rotarian, and Mr Wilde, a member of the Wymondham LIons, met at last year's official launch for the appeal and were later joined by Dr Richard Lindner, who joined them on all 185 miles of the journey.

The first leg of this week's journey took Mr Hickman Smith, 72, and Mr Wilde, 64 on a 40-mile route from the Quidenham hospice to the EACH Treehouse facility in Ipswich.

Mr Hickman Smith, who biked the same distance last year to raise funds for complex needs schools in Norfolk, remained upbeat, saying that it was a 'lovely day's cycling'.

But their second journey - from Ipswich to Milton in Cambridgeshire - quickly dampened their formerly positive spirits. Mr Hickman Smith said the 60 miles made for a 'hard day'.

He said: 'It was very cold to start with and with a strong head wind. It also rained – a lot. John, who has not cycled much for many years, found the going hard but we are in awe and admiration for the way he battled through and arrived at Milton at the same time as Richard and I. It was a long day but a hot bath helped the weary limbs.'

On Thursday, their third day, a break at Newmarket on the way back to Quidenham saw them presented with a cheque for £200 from the Newmarket Rotary Club and the Lions.

The final 22 miles on Friday saw them bike from Quidenham to the new site in Poringland.

Mr Hickman Smith said: 'There were 10 riders in all setting off from Quidenham, some of whom hadn't ridden a bike for several years. Three riders from last year were part of the ten but had not ridden since this time last year. Progress therefore, was a little more stately than the previous days.

'I would like to give a big thanks to John Wilde and Dr Richard Lindner who cycled the whole 185 miles with me. Of course, John was instrumental in setting the whole journey up and has played a large part in the organisation of the event.

'His lack of cycling over the last many years has made the long days cycling really tough, especially the up hill bits.'

He said that their fundraising total is nearing £5,000. To add to their donations, click here.

For more information on the nook appeal, click here.

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