Bicycles down the mountain (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Bicycles down the mountain

AUGUST 6: EMBARKING on the Tour de France is a tough challenge even if you are an experienced cyclist.

But four fearless Swindonians jumped on their bikes and completed part of the race in just seven hours.

And they have raised £2,000, which they are giving to WaterAid, a charity that provides clean drinking water to communities in Africa.

Fergal McGrath works for Honda's research and development team and encouraged colleagues to join him in the Pyrenees stage of the tour.

The 33-year-old, who is married, said: "None of us were experienced cyclists but we trained every weekend and I think it paid off."

The other team members were fellow Honda workers, Darren Walker, 33, Jurjen van der Goot, 34 and Della Brooker, 30, who works at Sabr Holdings.

"It was a great opportunity for us," said Mr McGrath.

"As we set off from the start line with 8,000 other riders it felt great, it was such a wonderful site.

"I'm so proud that we all managed to complete it in such good time and without any injuries."

"We rode quite conserva-tively and didn't take too many risks.

"We had never cycled the course before and so we didn't know what to expect."

The Swindon team started the 180km route from Mourenx to Pau and crossed the finish line after just seven hours.

The professionals in the Tour de France took a break while the amateur cyclists took to the mountains.

"The scenery was spectacular," said Mr McGrath.

"To begin we cycled through dense forest, which was good because it kept the heat off us.

"But then as we came out of the forest we caught the first glimpse of the mountains and it was breathtaking and even more so when we got to the top."

He added: "I am so proud we completed the challenge and would like to thank Honda."