UNIVERSITY lecturer Wayne O’Brien, 51, from Warrington is nearing the end of the first leg of an incredible 6,000 solo bike ride to raise money for two charities.
Wayne, from Orford, a senior lecturer in television production at the Warrington campus of Chester University, is 
nearing New York after cycling some 3,000 miles across America raising money for Help for Heroes and the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Foundation for Peace.
He set out from San Francisco on June 13 and has already risked life and limb out-cycling wild dogs, super-storms and the occasional police patrol and has even helped a tortoise to cross the road!
Every day, hundreds of followers are logging on to his website www.thecharityride.com to view his video diaries and read about his latest adventures.
After his coast-to-coast ride across America he will fly across the Atlantic to start another 1,500 miles from Gibraltar through Spain, France and back home to finish at the Peninsular Barracks, Warrington at the end of August.
Wayne is doing the ride alone and without any back-up.
Before he left he recorded a single, “The Bike Ride of My Life” which can be downloaded from his website.
He said: “I’m not doing this for political reasons. The British Armed Forces are incredible; they do a dangerous job in the most sensitive areas of the world. “They are ordinary young men and women who excel in very difficult situations. This came home to me when my eldest son joined the Army and did a tour of Iraq. What impressed me the most was the camaraderie that he experienced and the humour that helped him and his mates deal with their situation.
I believe that military personnel injured in the service of their country should receive the best medical care and rehabilitation. ‘Help for Heroes’ helps to do just that”
Wayne is backing Warrington’s Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace because of the work it does for victims of conflict.
He said: “To create something so positive out of something so negative is truly amazing and deserves everyone’s support.”
