A karate black belt has cycled across the Dolomites, widely considered to be one of the hardest cycling routes in the world.

In a trip lasting three days, cyclists climbed 12,000 ft in total and travelled 70 miles each day.

Daniel Miles, 38 and from St Albans, finished in the top 50 of those riders participating in his age group.

The Dolomites are a mountain range in north-eastern Italy.

Daniel spoke of his experience of tackling the route, which has been described as, "not for the faint hearted".

He said: “As much as I trained for the Dolomites, nothing could prepare me for the experience. It was brutal. The altitude, the relentless hair pin bends.

"In fact, the route we travelled had been pulled from the professional cycling route because it was too narrow and dangerous. People have since said to me that after completing Dolomites, I shouldn’t fear any other climb in the world.”

Daniel took up cycling to bring back the buzz he felt competing in Karate tournaments.

After trying a spinning class at Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre Daniel knew cycling was the perfect activity to fill the gap. He tried several cycling challenges and put in extra sessions at the Leisure Centre, he decided to take the Dolomites challenge.

Despite the extreme challenge of the route, Daniel explains how much he enjoyed it:

“As hard as the cycle was, it was absolutely amazing. The scenery was beautiful, the views incredible and the experience, unbeatable. It’s really given me a passion to keep cycling and I’ve even signed up to the Alps next year.

"I want to say a huge thank you to Jo, Wendy and the team at Westminster Lodge for continually pushing me to improve and supporting me throughout my training. I couldn’t have done it without them!”