A 69-year-old with a heart condition made light work of a 60-mile bike ride, and raised £200 for charity while he was at it.

Islington Gazette: Steve Woolf completed the British Heart Foundation London to Brighton Bike Ride to raise funds for the charity�s life saving research. Picture: Danny FitzpatrickSteve Woolf completed the British Heart Foundation London to Brighton Bike Ride to raise funds for the charity�s life saving research. Picture: Danny Fitzpatrick (Image: Licenced to the BHF for editorial purposes only for 5 years from date image was taken. Copyright DFphotography.co.uk Danny Fitzp)

Steve Woolf was taking part in Europe’s oldest charity bike ride, the London to Brighton, on Sunday in support of the British Heart Foundation (BHF). He was among 16,000 cyclists to saddle up for the ride, which is now in its 43rd year.

Steve He took on the challenge because he has a heart condition called bradycardia which caused him to have a very slow heartbeat. Before his diagnosis, he couldn’t jog for more than ten minutes. But he had a “life-changing” pacemaker fitted seven years ago, something only made possible by BHF funding.

Steve completed the ride in 3 hours 45 minutes – after cycling 10 miles to the start line. Afterwards, he said: “The atmosphere was fantastic and I’m so proud to have been cycling for the BHF’s vital heart research. Knowing I was raising money for such a great cause really spurred me on.”