VIDEO: Horncastle to Istanbul cycle DAY 16 - a much-needed day off

Paul Bargh and Neil Steeper are currently cycling from Horncastle and Scunthorpe respectively to Istanbul, raising money for Horncastle Squash Club, Cancer Research UK, and both of Paul’s former primary schools, Frithville Primary School and New York Primary School (read our previous update here).

When we last caught up with Paul and Neil, they were near Mainz in southern Germany, stage four of their journey, and they have now reached Regensberg yesterday (Monday) and will be taking a much needed day off today – and even treating themselves to a couple of nights in an Air B&B so they can rest and sleep in a comfy bed.

Paul said: “We’ve had a good couple of days riding 75km and 85km, but we’re pretty tired as we’ve had some tough climbs including 803m elevation on Saturday and 400m today so there’s been lots of hills, but some fantastic scenery.”

Despite the long-standing rivalry between England and Germany when it comes to football, Paul said they have been looked after by some wonderful local people.

They were invited to join a birthday party being held at the campsite they stayed at on Saturday night, and were then offered to stay at Sunday’s campsite for free as they were cycling for charity.

"We’ve met lots of lovely people, including some Dutch and even Scottish people who were in the country on Friday for the football,” he said.

So far the duo are on schedule and are ready to begin stage 5 of their journey, which will see them cycling from Regensburg to Bechet, Romania – a total of 1,261 km.

"It’s going well so far and we’re already a quarter of the way through, it’s gone so fast, and in two or three weeks we’ll be halfway” Paul said, “It’s been really exciting passing through all these different landscapes and meeting all these people.”

Although Paul and Neil have now got a rest day tomorrow, they will not be completely resting as they need to stock up on supplies for the next few days, wash their kit, and also wash and do some maintenance on their bikes.

Paul has extended his thanks to Louth Cycles and Just One More Bike in Horncastle for their knowledge and expertise.

You can follow their progress on Strava at https://www.strava.com/athletes/137334952, and make a donation to their cause via their JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/paul-bargh