THESE images show the stunning backdrop which two brothers tackled as part of a gruelling 1,000-mile charity cycle in memory of their parents.
Nick and Matthew Page embarked on the two-and-a-half-week ride from Malvern to Mont Blanc in the Alps after the death of their mum, Pauline, and dad, Roy.
The pair clocked up about 70 miles a day but Nick, who works as a graphic designer at Independent Design in Cradley, told The Observer the mental side of the challenge was more difficult than the physical part.
“It was a really good experience and a nice thing to do,” he said. “It wasn’t as physically hard as I thought it would be, it was more the tiredness which accumulated that got to us.
“The second day in France I had a problem with my knee and Matthew had problems with his Achilles tendon and I think we did about 15 miles that day.
“Luckily the pain went the following day and we were back into a rhythm again.
“We started off relatively unfit and when we finished the fitness levels have just gone right up.”
Nick, 46, and Matthew, 42, took to the saddle on April 15 to pedal up the cash for the Scleroderma Society and the Brain Tumour Charity.
Pauline passed away in May last year after battling scleroderma, a rare skin-hardening disease, for more than 20 years, while Roy lost his battle with a brain tumour in 2002 after being diagnosed with it six months earlier.
About £850 has been raised for the causes so far and Nick said after witnessing the ‘amazing’ surroundings in France, he would look at doing another charity ride in ‘a year or two’.
“Once you get to the Alps it is just amazing scenery,” he added. “We would really like another ‘Malvern to somewhere challenge’.
“It is a really good experience and something you don’t get the opportunity to do too often so it was a really good thing to get out and do.”
Nick and Matthew can still be sponsored and residents can visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Two.Brothers to donate to the cause.
