Warrant Officer Danny Hirst (centre) led an 800-mile cycle charge along the Western Front in support of charity Combat Stress

I’d trained on the hills of north Yorkshire so I was prepared for the climbs in this part of France. I rode with two other soldiers from Run2Recovery (R2R), Josh Conway and Paul Ingham, plus a support team of my son Callum and driver Iain Mulholland.

We got together to raise awareness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by doing extreme challenges. We wanted to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, so we plotted a route that took us alongside the war graves at Verdun, Cambrai, Mons and Ypres before crossing the channel at Dunkirk to Dover, onto London before finishing in Oxford.

We set off from Belfort on July 28. The first few days saw mountainous terrain and rolling countryside from the French-Swiss border. It was hard on the legs but at least the weather was kind, at first. The toughest day for me was Mons to Dunkirk (168km). It rained all day on a stretch that included a lot of cobbles. I came off twice but thankfully my helmet stopped me cracking my skull. We rode that part with footballers from Oxford United FC – its Community Trust is one of our causes – and it meant the club physio could treat my injuries. Well-wishers sent messages via social media and relatives of those who had died at the Somme were really inspirational when we were looking for motivation to press on. It was an emotional experience as we rode over Westminster Bridge on August 5 and on to Oxford, as we knew we’d finished an epic journey of endurance, remembrance and reflection of fallen comrades.

I came off twice but thankfully my helmet stopped me cracking my skull

To support Danny visit Facebook, JustGiving: Run 2 Recovery or combatstress.org.uk