A COUPLE who set off more than a year ago on a cycle trip across America, touched down in the North-East last night.
Beth Cheesebrough, 30, and her boyfriend, Jeremy Evenshed, 32, have covered about 13,000 miles on their bikes, travelling from Alaska to Argentina to raise awareness and money for the Aids Foundation.
Today, they are spending their first day on English soil since June last year, with Beth's parents, Margaret and Dennis, from Manfield, near Darlington.
The family are also celebrating the fact that Beth and Jeremy got engaged en route.
Mrs Dennis said: "I'm delighted for them and I've been really looking forward to them coming home. I'm proud of them both."
On their trip, the couple cycled about 60 miles a day through lands including The Rockies, Nevada, California, Mexico, Panama, Columbia and Brazil.
Their incredible journey was not without its hurdles, with the pair encountering deep mud in Mexico, and knee injuries and vicious dogs in Panama.
Now Beth, a paediatrician, who grew up in Darlington and went to school in Richmond, North Yorkshire, hopes to collect hundreds of pounds in sponsorship for the Aids Foundation.
Details of the couple's journey are available at www. cycleamericas.co.uk
Anyone who would like to donate money to the charity is asked to send a cheque payable to the Aids Foundation to Beth Cheesesbrough, at White Cedars, Manfield, Darlington, County Durham.
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