AN INJURED soldier from Barnsley completed an epic cycle challenge as part of his rehabilitation.
Exercise Waterloo Ride is a regiment-wide training exercise organised by the 1st The Queen’s Dragoons Guards to help its injured and medically downgraded soldiers regain fitness - by cycling the length of the UK from Land’s End to John o’ Groats.
And Penistone-born Jack Bradbury, 33, a Royal Engineer attached to the regiment, was invited to take part in the lengthy ride from Cornwall to Caithness.
He completed the 874-mile, 12-day journey despite being hampered by an ankle injury.
“It came completely out of the blue, I overheard a conversation and thought it was just a good way to get back to fitness,” said Jack, of Ward Street.
“At the beginning it was absolutely horrendous, we went uphill and down dale, the terrain was almost like a Toblerone.
“But then the confidence started to grow and by the end of it I was welcoming it, rather than just trying to get through each part.
“I’m quite lucky that I have an ankle injury that didn’t really stop me. Some of the guys had knee injuries which meant they were having to struggle.”
Jack, who went straight into the Army following his time at Penistone Grammar School, says his fight against a chronic ankle problem is ‘nothing heroic’ and took the challenge on as a way to regain fitness while continuing to push himself.
He joined 12 other servicemen on the exercise, during which the group cycled more than 80 miles a day.
Commanding officer of the exercise and regiment captain Tom Crossman-Kelly said: “Jack did very well considering he didn’t even know about the event beforehand.
“It was a complete accident that he turned up to the first meeting.
“But he was a really strong rider despite never doing any endurance cycling before. He was one of the top performers.”
Tom added that Jack would soon be returning to full fitness following the exercise.
