Cyclist prepares for Death Valley trek

9:52am Wednesday 18th June 2008

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THIS TEENAGER from York is preparing to cycle more than 260 miles across the hottest and driest place in North America in aid of charity.

Sean Thomas, 19, of East Parade, in Heworth, is in training for the gruelling bike ride across California's Death Valley in November.

Sean, a former pupil of Archbishop Holgate's CE School, has been a keen biker for years but now, and was looking for a challenge to take up before he starts university next year. The teenager, who works as a legal assistant for Minster Law, in Fulford, is hoping to embark on this tough challenge to raise money for landmine victims across the world.

He said: "Minster Law has sponsored me £200 and I am hoping to raise more money before I undertake the 268-mile trek.

"It's likely to take me about five days and in November the heat will be about 25C.

"I've been biking since I was 14 and started out dirt jumping and more recently I've been doing more scenic cycling, but I've done nothing like this before and it's going to be tough.

"I found out about the charity in the back of the Big Issue. My mum had bought a copy from one of the vendors in York and I was just leafing through one night after work."

Sean is raising the money for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), an international landmine clearance charity based in Manchester.