ANDY Watt left home at the crack of dawn for a gentle ride to London and was back in time for lunch.

The keen cyclist, right, joined thousands of others who took part in three separate rides that all converged on Oxford on Sunday.

But to make it just a little harder, Mr Watt and four colleagues from the Mid Oxon CRT cycling club rode from Oxford to London to reach the start of the race.

Organised by Clic Sargent and the Jennifer Trust for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, the three rides started simultaneously in Birmingham, London and Bristol heading for the finish at Oxpens.

Mr Watt, 44, of Abingdon, left home at 3.30am to meet his friends at Carfax at 4am for the ride to London.

He said: “We had a quick coffee and set off about 8.30am on our way back. I’m quite used to riding long distance and had a free massage at Oxpens when I arrived which I think did a lot of good — my legs felt quite fresh.”

Mr Watt, who raised £100 for Clic Sargent, rode about 136 miles in just nine hours — but said his longest ride ever was 400 miles in 36 hours.