WHEN a cyclist returned from a weekend away he was delighted to find out that travelling on two wheels had seen him take away first prize in a competition.

Student Ben Jones cycled the 61 miles from his home in London Road, Worcester, to Talachddu, near Brecon, Wales, on August 16, to attend a short camping holiday, before cycling back on August 18.

Upon his return, he noticed the organisers of the weekend away were asking people how they had reached the destination, in a bid to find the most eco-friendly attendee. Mr Jones, a second-year paramedic student at the University of Worcester, told them of his cycling feat and was delighted to find out he had won the Going Green competition.

“It was great to see I had won a competition – it was a nice surprise,” said the 37-year-old, who was cycling for about six hours on each leg of his journey, but took a ‘scenic route on the way.

“The weather on the way there was beautiful and it was brilliant as I went all around Herefordshire. I mostly cycle for fitness and fun, and it’s a bit of a hobby, but I do enjoy it and try to get on the bike whenever time and weather allows.

“The way home was a bit longer and not as enjoyable but that’s probably as I had already had the weekend away so there wasn’t anything to look forward to, plus I had a dog chasing me at one point up a hill.”

For winning the competition, Ben received a new mountain bike and entry to a repeat of the short break next April. “The bike is brilliant, I certainly wasn’t expecting that.”

The short holiday and competition were organised by Canopy and Stars, a company specialising in producing travel guides and providing locations with a difference for people to visit. Nada Matti, marketing manager at the firm, said: “The idea of the competition is to encourage people to travel to our locations the greenest way and we were really impressed with Ben’s entry. He deserves to have won.” The mountain bike was assembled by Worcester Cycle Centre from where Ben collected it.