A WINCHESTER dentist has completed a 200-mile charity ride despite his bike being stolen.

Mark Aston rode on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Society as his father suffers from the condition, but the night before he was due to start his bike was taken.

After some quick-thinking the partner at City Bridge Dental Care, in Bridge Street, used a hired bike for the three-day course.

It took in the Lakes, the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors and followed some of the same terrain covered by the riders in this year’s Tour de France ‘Le Départ’.

Mr Aston said: “Taking an unfamiliar hire bike from the Lake District to Scarborough in nearly 30 degree heat wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I signed up for The Crossing.

“I was also keen to raise money for Alzheimer’s research as my father suffers from the condition and I have seen what support he requires on a daily basis.”

After intense heat and heavy rain the dentist finished the course with a cracked rib, but that hasn’t put him off signing up for the 100-mile Coast to Coast triathlon in September.

To donate go to justgiving.com/Mark-Aston2.