A GROUP of cyclists who rode from Oxford to France to mark the 65th anniversary of D-Day have described the adventure as a life-changing experience.

Eighteen riders, including three with special needs, from the Pathway Workshop, in Dunnock Way, Blackbird Leys, completed the 150-mile ride in three days.

The charity, which produces garden furniture and other wooden items, gives training and employment to adults with physical and learning disabilities.

The ride began in Abingdon on Friday, June 5, and followed a route south to Portsmouth for an overnight ferry to Caen before 50 miles of riding in France to Abingdon’s twin town, Argentan.

Pathway managing director Mike Kyle said: “It went extremely well and everybody got there. It was more difficult than expected and some expert cyclists felt pretty tired.

“We were made to feel very welcome and the people from Argentan were very helpful. They held a collection for us, which wasn’t expected, and was very generous.”

He added: “The three guys with special needs showed amazing determination – it was absolutely fantastic.

“We had two guys – Paul Franklin and his son Jonathan — on a tandem and they were saying it was a life-changing experience. They felt they really got to know each other as father and son and they are now trying to buy a tandem to do more things together.”

The group’s journey included stops at Pegasus Bridge, Falaise and Caen to tie in with the commemorations of the D-Day landings in June 1944.

The cyclists also presented wooden plaques to the mayor of Argentan and to staff at a similar workshop for disabled people in Caen.

Mr Kyle added: “The half day at the Frenchworkshop was extremely productive and well organised. It was an eye-opener to see the ways the organisation worked – there was lots to come back and talk about.

“The D-Day commemorations were very poignant and it felt good to be part of it.

“There were veterans with us on the ferries and they laid a wreath off the back of the boat on the way back, which was really very emotional.”

Richard Smart, who works at Pathway and also sits on the Abingdon twinning committee, said: “Our group saw aspects of a country they had never really seen before and met French people for the first time, as well as finding out what D-Day was all about.”

The team hopes to raise more than £5,000.