Cyclist completes John O'Groats to Land's End challenge after hip replacement

Stuart Johnson had a hip replacement in 2018

A cyclist who had a hip replacement five years ago has completed a 900-mile ride from John O'Groats to Land's End.

Stuart Johnson, from North Somerset, slept on roadsides during the solo trip - which he finished in six days, three hours and 30 minutes.

The father-of-three overcame Achilles tendon pain and requiring physiotherapy treatment to raise £3,700 for mental health charity Mind.

"I can honestly say I enjoyed all of it," said the 49-year-old.

"Reaching Land's End I was mostly just happy.

"Happy that I'd completed it, happy that I'd done it faster than I thought I could and happy to have raised such a healthy chunk of money for Mind," added Mr Johnson.

Mr Johnson needed medical treatment during the 900-mile route

During the trip, Mr Johnson needed to visit a physio in Wigan and a podiatrist in Taunton, to help him keep going.

Much of the training for the ride was done during his 30-mile round trip commute from his home in Churchill, North Somerset, to the University of Bristol - where Mr Johnson works as the director of its careers service.

This helped prepare him for consecutive 130-mile days in the saddle, on a route that required him to climb 36,000ft (11,000m) - more than the height of Mt Everest.

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Mr Johnson said: "Completing the ride has surprised me and given me confidence to try more things - what exactly I do next though I'm not entirely sure.

"It will be easier to decide when I've recovered from this one."

His wife, Kathy Johnson, added: "The whole family is incredibly proud of Stuart for completing this mad adventure."