A KEEN cyclist from Tranent is putting both his legs and his brain to the test as he cycles around the county, visiting towns, villages and tourist attractions in alphabetical order for a charity close to his heart.

Peter Hardie decided to take on the challenge in a “spur of the moment” style decision after going on regular cycles with his two sons.

The 42-year-old said: “My two boys got bikes for their birthdays, I didn’t have one so borrowed one from my father-in-law so I could go out with them and get into cycling for exercise and cycle before work and take it from there.

“I also wanted to do something for charity, something different and thought: ‘Why not do something like this?’”

Peter, who lives in the Windygoul area of Tranent and works for HSBC, hopes to complete the cycle on his mountain bike on Sunday.

He admitted he had been constantly weather watching to ensure he got perfect conditions.

Peter’s route so far will see him visit Aberlady, Ballencrieff, Cockenzie, Drem, East Fortune, Fenton Barns, Gullane, Haddington, John Muir Country Park, Kingston, Longniddry, Macmerry, New Winton, Ormiston, Prestonpans, Queen Margaret University, Royal Musselburgh Golf Club, Seton Sands, Tranent, Ugston, Votadini in East Linton, Whitekirk, Lennoxlove House (representing ‘X’) and Yester Castle before finishing at the zebra crossing near Tranent’s Co-op store.

He is yet to decide on a place for the letter ‘I’.

He said: “There is no ‘Z’ so I thought: What about [finishing at] a zebra crossing?”

Peter has a cycle plan in place and has been practising his potential route, taking on a group of letters at a time, for example E-K, and cycling the route, figuring out shortcuts along the way and discovering any unknown roads.

A practice cycle on Saturday saw him cycle A-H and back to Tranent, a total of 49 miles – something he described as “quite difficult”.

He estimates that the challenge, a total distance of 145 miles, will take him about 16 hours to complete, subject to punctures or any other issues he encounters along the way.

He is completing it in aid of the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity.

On why he decided to raise money for the charity, Peter said: “There are two reasons, the first is the importance of the charity and the work they do. The second, my partner also works for them as well, so it is close to our hearts. I know where the funds are going.”

He added: “I feel fine about it. The most important thing is just raising money for charity, it’s not really about me.

“It would be great to wake up in the morning and cycle as far as I can but I would rather set myself a challenge.

“The kids are excited and I’ve been out cycling with them a lot.”

To donate, visit give.everydayhero.com/uk/peters-a-z-east-lothian-crazy-cycle-challenge