JON Swannell raised £26,353 from cycling 415km from London to Salcombe in support the Bone Cancer Research Trust and Winchester Hospice.

Hugh Freeland died from one of the most common forms of primary bone cancer on April 10, 2022. Therefore, in memory of his best friend from Winchester, Jon embarked on this challenge alongside Hugh’s brother, Charlie, and a handful of friends.

Jon and his team completed the cycle over two days on the July 22 and July 23, where in total each man lost 12,000 calories. Day one involved a 140km cycle from London to Winchester, finishing at the hospice which took five and a half hours, and day two involved a 275km stretch from Winchester to Salcombe and took 16 hours, including regular water and food breaks.

Jon said: “It’s been incredible to see the generosity from so many people, our aim was £10,000 and now to have almost raised £27,000 is amazing!

READ MORE: Man is set to bike 415km to raise money for bone cancer in memory of his best friend from Winchester

“None of us have every cycled this far before, but due to the reason we were cycling in the first place and the personal connection we had to Hugh, it never entered any of our minds that we wouldn’t reach our goal in Salcombe. Even though there were some pretty tough bits, particularly during the middle where we still felt like we had a very long way to go, we were positive all the way because just not finishing wasn’t an option.

“When we finished the cycle, it was actually really overwhelming and emotional because of all of Hugh’s family were there and so many other people who were supporting that we didn’t expect to be. We are really proud of what we have done, and it has exceeded any expectations!”

To help raise more money go to justgiving.com/team/ride-for-hughie

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