A TEAM of three cyclists have completed a gruelling trek from from Bury St Edmunds to the Rwandan capital Kigali.Peter White, 31, from Bury St Edmunds, Peter Goodwin, 29, from Colchester, and Julian Claxton, 31, from Lowestoft, reached the end of their 6,000-mile and 70-day cycle in aid of the Sport For Rwanda appeal yesterday evening.

The appeal aims to raise �80,000 to leave a lasting legacy from the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 140 schools in the country by giving them sports equipment, a place to store it and educational materials to help teachers.

The ‘Cycle 2 Rwanda’ team have faced many obstacles including illness, technical difficulties, equipment malfunctions and the gruelling mileage and deserts of the Sudan.

Mr Goodwin said: “The trip has been one of extremes. Extreme highs and lows, emotionally, physically and geographically. From the very best days when the bikes are in good shape, we are in good shape, the weather is kind, the people are kind and you have time to enjoy what surrounds you - to the days when everything seems to be against you, whether it is the wind, the 50 degree heat or the 12 percent gradients - you know only one thing... you have to keep going.

“What the trip means has changed as it evolves, you pass through each country and you have new realisations. I think our arrival in Rwanda will give us the perspective we need when we meet the children we did this for and it will allow us the hindsight we need to truly understand what it has done for us personally.”

The Rwandan Olympic and Paralympic teams will train in Bury this month and the next before leaving for the Olympic Village in London.

The Cycle 2 Rwanda team hope to raise about �10,000 for the Sport For Rwanda appeal and have cycled through Europe before flying across the water to Egypt and continuing through Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda to Rwanda.

For more information visit www.sportforrwanda.org and www.gorwanda.co.uk

For more on their trek, see link above right.