A WEST Devon lawyer was waved off as he mounted his bike to start his lone cycle ride to Rome on?Saturday.

David Wilde from Chilcotts Solicitors in Tavistock bid farewell as he set off from Brown's Hotel to pedal the 1,000 miles through Europe to raise money for the Cornwall Down Syndrome Support Group.

David anticipates the epic journey will take him ten days to complete — he hopes to arrive in Rome on Saturday, June 30.?He is cycling without back-up and is relying on his own map reading abilities.

To support David visit http://www.justgiving.com/david-wilde2012">www.justgiving.com/david-wilde2012 and follow his journey on Twitter at @wilderider

Donations can also be made via text by sending 'DUDE99' to 70070. You will receive a text back confirming the next step and how to donate. This effectively adds your donation to your next mobile phone bill and the full donation goes to the donations page free of charge.

Picture by James Bird