Participants who took part in the mammoth Harten400 challenge from Harrogate to Tenby over the weekend have given their thanks for everyone’s support over the charity cycle ride.

18 cyclists and support crew set off on Friday in aid of raising money and awareness of The British Heart Foundation charity.

The ride was organised by Dai Morgan from Tenby and Kevin Hare from Harrogate (originally from Kilgetty), who came up with the idea after Dai’s grandmother and also Kevin’s mother, suddenly passed away after suffering heart attacks.

Dai along with Jamie Mills, Andrew Pearce, Gary O’Neil, James Hare, Jon Mills, Mark Woods, Paul Fletcher, Nigel Morgans, Huw Davies, Meiner Davies, Helen Roberts, Steve Roberts, Martin Rogers, Richard Griffiths, Peter Jones and Gareth Smith left Harrogate with a smile on their faces knowing there was 285 miles between them and home.

“Conditions were perfect, banter was high and the scenery through Yorkshire was gorgeous,” said Dai.

“The night was particularly hard as temperatures dropped quickly from 14°c to 2°c within 30 minutes. As dawn broke towards Welshpool the mood lifted slightly and not even the freezing fog could stop them.”

Newtown, Builth Wells and Llandovery via sugar loaf mountain were next on the route.

“Again there was brilliant support in Llandovery and Jeff Ellis joined in to help with the final push, but just 500 yards after setting off the group came across a distressed young girl who had been separated from a school trip, so the team stayed with her until the police arrived,” explained Dai.

“At Carmarthen Clive Morgan joined in with fresh legs for the final 25 miles, and mentally and physically this was the darkest stretch.”

Then it was done - 285 miles in 35 hours and 30 minutes, and the team was given a heroes welcome at the finishing line at Tenby’s South Beach.

“The past 12 months have been an emotional rollercoaster and what a ride, especially the last bit!” continued Dai.

“The team were looked after all the way by the support crew who worked effortlessly to keep us safe and well - with thanks to Tony Brown, Neil Lewis, Kevin Hare, Sue Shanahan and along with Norman Mason of Pembrokeshire Elite Travel and of course Polly!

“We can’t forget to thank the amazing people who set up the finish line too - Melanie Lewis, Sarah Brown, Tracey Carleton, Sue Naul, Daniel Roberts, Rachel Ellis, Will and Anthony Brown and Tilly.

“We set a target some time ago to raise £2,500 by the end of the ride, and we totally smashed this with the fundraising currently sit at £6,300!

“Anyone who has supported from volunteering, riders, support crew, sponsors, to donations, none of this would have been possible without you and we thank you all,” added Dai.

The fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Dai-Morgan1 will stay open for a few more weeks to see if they can try and hit a new target of 7k