Bristol man's epic cycle trip inspired by friend who had stroke

John Ridley travelled more than 900 miles from Biarritz to Bristol

A man has cycled from France to England to raise money for a charity that supported his lifelong friend - who taught him French for the trip.

John Ridley, 64, pedalled more than 900 miles from Biarritz to Bristol with camping gear on his back.

He has raised funds for Bristol After Stroke (BAS), which helped Mr Ridley's friend Dominique Moore.

Mr Moore, a retired teacher, nearly died when he had a stroke and collapsed at home after gardening.

Mr Ridley, 64, decided he wanted to take on the challenge this summer, as he is "not getting any younger" and needs to do things while he still can.

While planning his ride, he realised he would need to brush up on his language skills and got in touch with native French speaker Mr Moore, who he has known "for a long time".

But when he asked for lessons, Mr Moore told him about the stroke and how BAS had helped him with his recovery.

Speaking a day into the trip, Mr Ridley said the stroke "nearly killed" his friend.

Mr Ridley crossed the finish line in Bristol after 40 days

He can no longer use his left arm but is doing "amazingly well" after regaining his speech.

BAS supported Mr Moore physically and mentally to help him get "his sense of identity back".

Mr Ridley said his trip had a "British start" when he was "drenched" with rain.

He said he took the journey "day by day" and "knew where he was going to end up and the direction he was going" but had not planned much else.

He ended up visiting the tallest sand dune in Europe, in Arcachon, enjoyed the "beautiful" Hourtin beach and saw an "amazing" transporter bridge, near Rochefort.

Mr Ridley visited the Dune of Pilat after Mr Moore's recommendation

Reflecting at the end of his 40 day trip - with 35 days of riding - he said it was full of "great experiences and a fantastic thing to do".

He arrived at the finish line on Saturday to applause and the demand "give us some French".

Mr Ridley has raised £2,500 of his target total of £3,000.