Wolves, noodles and bushy beards: Brits finish epic London to Hong Kong bike ride
Familiar faces greet Brits at end of nine-month cycling odyssey from London to HK that raised HK$173,000 for prostate cancer research
Two young British cyclists capped off an epic nine-month, 17,000km journey from London to Hong Kong - via scorching deserts, freezing mountains and unforgiving terrains - with a triumphant final ascent up The Peak yesterday, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for prostate cancer research.
Family and friends from all corners of the globe cheered as Nick Codrington, 24 and Laurence Gribble, 23, rode up Peak Road to finish their marathon effort that began from Buckingham Palace in July.
"Just look at that beard," one friend called out. Others shared teary hugs with the pair, whom many had not seen since they embarked on the endeavour that had raised almost £15,000 (HK$173,000) for charity Prostate Cancer UK by the journey's end.
The pair had aimed to reach The Peak at noon; they arrived just before 1pm. "Sorry, we made you wait," were the first words out of Codrington's mouth as he hopped off his bicycle and friends rushed to embrace him.
For Gribble, it was an emotional reunion with his girlfriend Insun Jung, 28, who had flown in from Seoul just hours before to surprise him at the finish line.
Richard Codrington, Nick's father, was "massively proud" of his son's efforts, while Corinne Alexander, Laurence's mother, called it an amazing effort.
"When they first told me, I thought they were stark raving barmy," she said. "I didn't expect them to come back alive."