In just 17 days, two brothers cycled 3,462 kilometres and climbed 64,934 feet from London Wall to the Istanbul City Walls, all to raise money for The eXceL Project (XLP).

Compared to Ben and Jono Palmer’s challenge, the Tour de France covered around 3,300 kilometres in 23 days.

The pair set off on the train from Farnham, carrying everything they needed as they were wild camping.

Set backs en-route seemed to occur in twos, as they faced two punctures, two nights in mosquito infested fields, two pairs of sunglasses and flip flops lost and two broken mudguards.

However, on day 14 while the duo were riding through the night, Jono’s rear gears snapped off while speeding down a hill into the town of Jagodina in Serbia.

Fortunately for the brothers, the fourth and final hotel in the town had a spare room and was just five minutes from the town’s bike shop, which crucially had the spare part in stock.

Ben said: “It was incredibly difficult to complete in 17 days - we were cycling around 10 hours a day.

“I’ve told my friends that I don’t recommend doing it! Your whole existence is on the bike, it’s really quite tough.

“I wanted to push myself and see how I got on, I’ve never done anything like it before.

“I feel proud and relieved to have done it but I don’t want to do it again, it was quite something.”

The pair took on the challenge during the World Cup and found themselves “cycling to distant cities” to watch England play.

“It was good to break up the cycling and focus on something else,” Ben added.

Ben, 27, and Jono, 25, undertook the self-funded trip to raise money for London-based charity XLP, having raised around £4,400 so far.

The urban youth work charity helps young people who are at risk of dropping out of school and getting involved in gangs and knife crime.

Working in inner London estates and schools, the charity offers young people positive futures and helps them stay in education.

Ben felt it was “a good opportunity to support the charity”, which he first became involved in when he volunteered for the mentoring programme. This involves partnering an at-risk young person with a mentor for 12 months.

To sponsor the duo and support XLP’s work, visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LondonToIstanbul.