A NOVICE Cirencester cyclist has raised £2000 for charity by completing a gruelling Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 ride in just over eight hours.

Greg Power, aged 55 and an independent financial advisor, completed the 100 mile route on August 2, just twelve weeks after buying his bike and Norville Opticians stepped in with a pair of multifocal spectacles that enabled him to see both the route ahead and to read his Garmin device.

The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 which aims to become the largest charity fundraising cycling event in the world covered a closed route through London and the Surrey countryside some of which was used in the 2012 London Olympics.

“This was one of my greatest personal challenges” said Greg reflecting on his success. “I have raised around £125000 for various charities in the past but this £2000 target I have set for the hospice care charity Longfield will be one of the sweetest to have completed.”

He added: “The last time I rode a bike was 40 years ago and part way through my training I decided that I must be mad. To even contemplate riding 100 miles non-stop within three months of buying a bike was nuts; but I have done it and managed to raise lots of money for a very worthy cause.”

Norville Optician dispensing optician and Cirencester practice manager Jo O’Neill described the spectacles with which Greg was provided. “They were no ordinary specs”, she said. “They have been designed by Norville specifically for cycling with a varifocal lens which enabled Greg to both see where he was going and then to look down and read his cycle computer; each with crystal clear vision. “