VIDEO: Intrepid cyclists pass halfway mark of epic Horncastle to Istanbul challenge

​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.

When we caught up with them on Wednesday (June 26), they were due to arrive in Bratislava, which will mean they have reached the halfway point of their epic challenge.

And now they have passed that halfway mark yesterday (July 1), arriving safely into Budapest, Hungary, and will be finished in around a month’s time – despite having a late start due to issues with Neil’s bike – and now are heading due south towards Serbia.

Paul said that the whole thing feels surreal to them: “We’ll be saying to each other “we’ve just cycled to Vienna”, or “we’ve just cycled to Budapest” and it still hasn’t quite sunk in how much we’ve done.

”It’s such an adventure – but a very tiring one.”

The duo are still cycling to different camp sites along the way as their trip is self-funded so that all funds raised can go to their four good causes, pitching their tents after a hard day in the saddle and then cooking for themselves before sleeping in their tents – although they haven’t had much sleep over the past few days as their tents were battered by thunderstorms they encountered during their time in Hungary.

"Our bodies are coping well, we’re tired but we’re doing well,” Paul said, “It’s amazing how well we’re coping, it’s amazing what the human body is capable of.

"We’re still keeping in touch with our families every day and even little things like receiving photos has helped keep us going.”

Something that amused them was asking for methylated spirits for their camping stove via a translation app, but they received funny looks from locals as the translation of what they needed went awry on a number of occasions and it sounded as though they were asking for a very strong alcoholic spirit!

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