AN ASCOT man has completed a mammoth cycling challenge across America in aid of a charity close to his heart.

Graham McGregor-Smith cycled 3,200 miles across North America to raise money for children's charity Action Medical Research.

The 54-year-old set off from San Francisco Bay on July 29 and successfully made it to Battery Park in Manhattan on August 27.

Accompanied by a support team of two, Graham cycled across 11 States, finishing a whole day ahead of schedule.

Mr McGregor-Smith said: “In hindsight, the scariest moment was negotiating my way past a bull that was standing in the middle of the road as I was coming down Indian Canyon in Utah!

“I must also confess to a degree of anxiety in the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was absolutely bursting with wildlife, and while making the climb up to 12,200 feet, my mind couldn’t help dwelling on the possibility of a bear attack! Luckily there wasn’t one!”

Action Medical Research is a UK-wide children’s charity which funds desperately needed research to tackle the diseases that devastate the lives of so many of children.

The charity is currently funding research into conditions including asthma, prematurity, epilepsy, meningitis, cerebral palsy, brain cancer and some rare and distressing conditions.