Portarlington man John Bolton has finished his trip by bike from Canada through the US to the Mexican Border, raising a sizeable amount for Laois Hospice in the process.
John completed the famous Great Divide across the United States traversing the Rocky Mountains all the way from Banff, Canada to the Mexican Border.
This saw him crisscross the Continental Divide 30 times before he completed 2,754 memorable miles.
And he did all this in aid of Laois Hospice Charity.
So far John has raised over €12,000, exceeded his initial target of €10,000 before he had even got on the plane.
To donate log on to www.laoishospice.ie, click the donate button and quote Rocky Mountain Cycle.
John, who captained the Laois U-21 team to a Leinster title in 1987, completed the final and 35th day of the epic trek in the past 48 hours.
The 49-year-old, who is a fitness trainer, began the cycle in Calgary, Canada before reaching the Mexican border over a month later.
Charity
John, owner of True Fitness in Portarlington, has undertaken challenging charity endeavours including a gruelling canoe journey around the coast of Ireland.
Throughout his cycle, True Fitness was updating his progress with details and video clips to keep supporters informed.
As John was in his final few miles, Margaret from True Fitness posted this message: “Everyone has been thanking me for the daily posts and so I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you in return for keeping me going throughout John’s challenge.
“It gave me a purpose all the way through. I really felt I was with him every turn of the wheel and that I took you all along for the ride too.
“We did it together and you have no idea how much that means to John to have all our support around him, 1,000s of miles away,” she said.
Now that John has completed the Great Divide Cycle, a fitting homecoming celebration is planned.
No doubt another charity undertaking isn’t far off.
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