Andrew Brown is the editor of the Southport Visiter, Midweek Visiter, Formby Times, Ormskirk Adverti

Dave, who rides for Middletons Cycling Club based in Ormskirk, said: “I always do the Etape du Tour every year and this year I was suffering from a bit of a lack of motivation because last minute specials on mexico vacation rentals I didn’t want to do it on my road bike again or on my mountain bike. So I started thinking ‘what can i do to make the Etape more fun?’ and I thought ‘I’ll do it on a kids bike’ to make it a bit more of a challenge.
“The bike weighs 16kg, then add on top of that all the gear on board and me, which is why I had to lose weight. Once you’ve got your body weight last minute specials on mexico vacation rentals down and got some miles in your legs, you can get up the mountains – not dead fast, but you can get up them.
“I was in the top 20% of climbers that day and I came more than halfway through the field, so I overtook a lot of people that day. At the start I went out like the clappers so I think everyone thought that by the time that I got to the Tourmalet that my legs would be gone, but I was actually alright.”
In 2015, the Tour starts in Utrecht, Holland, on July 4, before last minute specials on mexico vacation rentals finishing along the Champs-Élysées on July 26. It will cover a total of 3,344-kilometres and include the legendary climb of Alpe d’Huez, with its 21 famous hairpin bends.
Dave will not be doing it alone though. He will be joined by sports masseur Mo, bus driver, chef and psychologist Jonathan and mechanic Chris to form his own version of Team Sky – fittingly dubbed ‘Team Chop’.
He added: “No-one has ever done this before and no-one thought that I could do a single mountain on the Chopper, so why not? It’s just a bike at the end of the day. As a coach, I am always more interested in the person on the bike; not the actual bike. To me, the Chopper has got a crank, it’s got a chainring, it’s got wheels, last minute specials on mexico vacation rentals it’s a bike – what matters is the person on it. If you train correctly and hold the right body weight, then you can ride anything. It could be an unicycle if you want.
“It’s an ordinary Mark III Chopper, with a three 8-speed Sturmey Archer hub, rather than the 3-speed version. It even has the same Raleigh tyres it came with. Everything is the same, it has even got the same rusty horn but it has got new crank arms on it. Other than that, it is the same as when it was first made. I don’t think a Chopper has ever done this sort of journey before.”
Andrew Brown is the editor of the Southport Visiter, Midweek Visiter, Formby Times, Ormskirk Advertiser, Skelmersdale Advertiser, and the Crosby Herald. Andrew was born and bred in Southport - a true Sandgrounder. Andrew was one of the founders of Southport's Charity Fun Fest.