A 71-YEAR-OLD man is cycling more than 870 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats – despite being completely blind.

Derek Pritchard will man the rear end of a tandem bike, steered by pal Bobby Feven, for the epic journey they began on Monday.

The Cornish Guardian caught up with the pair as they enjoyed a final luxury breakfast at Fifteen in Watergate Bay.

"People do find it surprising when I tell them that I'm cycling all that way at my age... and then tell them I'm blind." said Derek.

"But I've always been determined to lead as normal a life as I could and I've always loved cycling. Obviously there are restrictions to what I can do but you have to make as much as you can with what you've got."

The pair, who had just come from a sports massage courtesy of Pentire physiotherapist Gerry McKenna, said they came up with the idea a year ago, chatting back in their home town of Bury, Lancashire.

They hope to raise £10,000 to build an extension to house the 20 tandem bikes belonging to Bury Tandem Club for the Blind and Visually Impaired, run by Derek.

Derek, who is married, completely lost his sight some ten years ago due to a condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa, which caused him to gradually go blind from birth.

Bobby, 30, a keen triathlon athlete and sports therapist, said he would be in charge of navigating – at least until they approached their home town when Derek's impressive knowledge of the roads would help.