AFTER securing a "bizarre looking" bike at an auction, a Salisbury resident found herself riding to France, covering around 450km.

At the beginning of August Susie Thomlinson rode her 1964 Velosolex, a French motorised bicycle, from Salisbury Cathedral to Chartres Cathedral, in her bid to say yes to new adventures and challenges, while raising money for charity.

The 46-year-old arrived at the second cathedral on August 4, after four days of riding cross-country, and has so far raised around £1,400 for charity Place2be, which provides counselling services in schools.

Following the trip, Susie said: "When you're riding something that is a bit bizarre looking, people were always asking 'what is this?' and asking questions about it. I was also riding something iconically French, so a lot of people already recognised what it was. Everybody wanted to talk about this bike.

"I spoke to so many people in just four days, and people went out of their way to help me."

The Harnham resident said the first leg of the journey was the hardest part, adding: "Getting to Portsmouth was terrifying, at really only about 18mph, but the village and back road rides made up for it.

"[The bike] really is a fabulous bit of kit, and riding gave such a sense of freedom. It showed you sights you don't get to see in the car, you see the most amazing houses and places you would never think of visiting."

Susie is a member of the Salisbury Yes Tribe, which encourages people to take on their own adventures, and Susie is already looking for her next challenge.

She said the fundraised amount is "fantastic", adding: "Because of my own problems with anxiety I know that school can be the hardest place to address that. If I can help other kids pick these things up earlier, than they will hopefully be able to manage earlier.

"It feels wonderful to enable benefits for so many people and help myself too."