Rochdale man completes mammoth cycle across America

Jan Harwood and Louis Suttmann at the end of their bike ride

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A man from Rochdale has cycled 4,000 miles across America and raised over £700 for the British Heart Foundation.

Jan Harwood, 25, an avid Rochdale AFC fan, has spent the summer travelling on a bike from the West Coast in Oregon to New York City.

Mr Harwood, who works at a boarding school in Salzburg, Austria, was joined on the mammoth challenge by his friend and colleague from the school, Louis Suttmann, 24, from Ohio.

The pair started their adventure on the West Coast in Oregon and headed east along recognised bike trials through Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey  and New York before finally reaching the Atlantic Ocean.

Speaking to Rochdale Online about the bike ride, Mr Harwood, said: “It was the experience of a lifetime and I discovered mental and physical strength that I didn't know I had.

“The range of experiences across the nine weeks on the bike was amazing. We went from riding 80 miles or so in Montana without seeing a single building, to riding over Brooklyn Bridge in New York City alongside thousands of people.”

“When I look back now I guess it was a lot of hard work to bike so far for so long but we came to terms almost from the start that, barring a major problem, there was no way we were going to give up.”

In total Mr Harwood raised £725 for the British Heart Foundation.

He said:  “The support from people we met on the road and from back home was humbling; we were just two guys on a bike but it seemed to capture the imaginations of a lot of people. I guess it didn't really sink in what we had achieved straight away and in a way it still hasn't, though I have to admit that I kind of impress myself when I see a map of the world and notice just how big America is.”

Not put off by the challenge Mr Harwood is already contemplating what he can set his sights to next.