A FORDINGBRIDGE man has completed a cycle ride of 865 miles around New Zealand to raise funds for Diabetes UK.

Peter Elbro started his 18 day cycle ride on January 31, which took him from Auckland to Wellington along the longer and more scenic routes.

“It went better than I dared hope,” he said. “It actually all went to plan. The weather was unbelievable and so crystal clear.”

He says the people he met along the way were “amazing” and on several occasions stopped to make sure he was ok when he was travelling on the remote routes.

Peter said one of the highlights of the trip was climbing 800 metres to Whakapapa from Turangi, which took about five hours.

During his journey around New Zealand he was also joined by fellow cyclists on some of the legs of his journey, with whom he has stayed in touch.

He arrived in Wellington on February 18 and said: “I was mostly relieved when I got there safely.”

So far he has raised more than £670 for the charity.

Diabetes is a cause close to his heart as his daughter Verity suffers from the type 1 condition.

The idea for the cycle ride was sparked after the 63-year-old booked a long-overdue visit to the country to see an old school friend.

A further £300 was raised at Timothy’s in Fordingbridge, which will be go to a diabetes support group in the area.

Speaking about his fundraising success Peter added: “I feel very pleased because it was not my primary aim to raise money. People here and on the ride were very generous.”

He has thanked everyone who supported him and made donations.

To make a donation go to justgiving.com/PeterElbro.