Hundreds of cheering fans lined the streets of Whitchurch to greet an intrepid cyclist returning from a mammoth two-week adventure.
Eighteen-year-old Chris Miller, returned home after cycling nearly 2,000 miles across the UK in a bid to raise cash for the Whitchurch Youth Centre Trust to build a new base.
His epic ride helped raise £6,500 towards the £300,000 plan to buy and refurbish a disused chapel in London Street and provide a permanent home for the town’s youth club.
He said: “The has really kickstarted something. It has raised awareness about the cause. When I was younger I wanted a place to go that was not the streets or the park late at night. So having this centre would be great.”
The youngster, who has just completed his A-levels at Peter Symonds College in Winchester, left the town on September 17 and spent two weeks riding the length of the country and up to Scotland’s Ben Nevis mountain before heading for home.
His route took him across the border into Wales, before heading north into the Yorkshire Dales. Two days later he hit the foothills of Ben Nevis, where he hiked up the country’s highest mountain on foot on September 23.
Chris said: “The ride was a bit of everything. There were times where I felt like turning round and giving up, but other days it was a brilliant experience.
“I saw views I never thought I would I see in the UK, but there were some hard bits on the way.”
On average he managed to put in a energy sapping 110 miles per day on his Ridgeback Voyage touring bike, spending evenings in hostels along the route.
He received a hero’s welcome when he returned on Saturday with the Mayor of Whitchurch, Barry Jackson, and North West Hampshire MP Sir George Young coming out in support.
He said: “A lot of people turned up which was amazing, I did not expect that.
“The youth club was there cheering me in. It was quite nerve-racking.”
Now on his gap year before studying electronic engineering at Portsmouth University, he said he will continue to look for ways to raise more money.
