FIREFIGHTER Gareth Bridgewater completed his 7,000km cycle one month early with a 24-hour stationary cycle over the weekend.

From 5pm on Friday to the same time on Saturday, Mr Bridgwater and close friend Andy Lewis did a non-stop 615km spinathon to complete the mammoth challenge he started in February in memory of his late father David, who died of lung cancer at the age of 60 in 2010.

The challenge was to cycle a replica of the distance from Heathrow to Calgary in Canada by riding the length of Wales every week with a fundraising target of £15,000.

More than £1,000 was donated over the weekend and the Cwmbran father is hoping to top the rest by the rime he flies to Calgary in September for a 405km Rockies trail cycle with other fundraisers.

Mr Bridgewater, from Griffithstown, said: “Apart from a few brief toilet stops I did 24 hours non-stop and made sure the first 10 hours went through without a blip.

“It went really well and we also had a minimum of seven of us together at any one time. The gym were really supportive and at one point they had to give me a nudge when I fell asleep for a nanosecond.”

Over a hundred people came to support the pair throughout the 24 hours as they rode in the Virgin Active’s spin room in Cwmbran.

The gym was open especially for the event and allowed both non-members and members to take part in regular spin classes around the pair to keep them going, with a special one at midnight.

Virgin’s fitness manager Nyran Bird, 30, said: “It was funny when Gareth had his little nano sleep as his legs didn’t stop moving. We made sure that he was well hydrated throughout with his glucose level high and often feeding him and Andy things like rice pudding and jaffa cakes.

“I rode a few hours with them and it shows how strong the pair are both physically and mentally as most people would probably have caved in after ten hours.”

There was also a cake stall for people who came to show support.

Mr Bridgwater, who had to re-learn to walk six years ago after being hit by a rolling truck on duty. He has also completed the Velothon, the Westwood endure and a six-hour rise in Pontypool’s Tesco Extra in April as part of his challenge. You can donate at justgiving.com/garethbridgewater