YOU don’t need an expensive top of the range bike to complete a marathon.

Peter Skinns has just finished the 1,000 mile John O’Groats to Land’s End classic ride on a secondhand machine he bought for £50 from a Teignmouth shop.

‘It served me well, and I didn’t have any problems with it. It just proves that you do not need to fork out a lot of money for long distance journeys,’ said Mr Skinns, 70.

‘I was passing a bike shop in Waterloo Street, and wanted a bike for just local rides. I saw one I fancied, and bought it.

‘I always had an ambition to do the end to end, and decided the bike was good enough to complete it. It didn’t let me down. I was quite lucky with the weather, but it was very cold at times, especially going through the Great Glen.’

David Margrie, proprietor of Teign Cycles, said he was surprised when he learned that Mr Skinns was going to use the Diamondback hybrid on the journey.

‘It is about ten years old, but very sturdy. There is nothing wrong with an older bike as long as it has been looked after and checked over properly. I gave him some spares just in case, but apparently he did not need them.’

Mr Skinns, pictured here with Mr Margie, raised sponsorship for the NSPCC during his epic journey.