TWO buddies aged 67 who have cycled every year in Europe for charity are calling it a day after 16 years.
Barber Mike Tonra who runs Mike's Barber Shop on Sheffield Road and retired headteacher Chris Booth have been doing their annual trip since 1998.
In that time they have raised £7,000 and covered more than 3,000 miles.
The first trip was to raise funds for Macmillan nurses and after that for Barnsley Multiple Sclerosis Society, where Chris is vice president.
The cycling veterans have visited Majorca, Brittany, Jersey, Spain and the Netherlands but have also cycled through Lancaster and Lincoln. They camped or stayed in B and Bs or youth hostels and sometimes hiked rather than cycled.
At the end of April, they go on their 'Final Curtain' tour riding from Oporto to Lisbon, a journey of just under 250 miles. They will cycle 40 miles a day.
Chris, of Locke Road, Dodworth, who used to be headteacher at schools in Crane Moor and Millhouse, said they had met interesting people and gathered weird and wonderful stories over the years.
"One time we were in Toulouse at this camp site when we realised it was a 'drugs camp' - people were taking drugs and collapsing in their tents.
"Another time, an ex-pat bloke in the south of France invited us in to watch the cup final. We also bumped into a builder from Barnsley when we were in Jersey who opened up his house to us."
