Man's Fuji cycle challenge marks three years sober

A recovering alcoholic is preparing to mark three years sober by cycling up Mount Fuji in Japan later this year and also to promote mental health support.

Father-of-two Phil James is taking on the challenge, the latest in a series of extreme cycling expeditions, as he said they gave him a focus away from drinking.

He pedalled his way up Vesuvius last year, having previously taken on Snowdon to raise money for mental health charities Mind and Men And Their Emotions (MATE) as well as trying to show to people experiencing a mental health crisis that there was hope for them.

James, from Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, said he found cycling was an effective way to avoid alcohol since going sober in 2023.

Before that, he said he would spend entire days drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes in a darkened room, while on a waiting list for NHS support with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

He was diagnosed with the condition after he became homeless at 16.

"It's a completely different level of challenge to the other two," he told BBC Radio Stoke, speaking about the forthcoming cycle expedition.

He will take on the 3,776m (2.3 mile) challenge while carrying his bike and kit, and sleeping on the mountain.

"To get from the sea to the summit is the equivalent of a marathon," he said, with the difficulty increased by the gradient of the climb.

Explaining why he chose Fuji, he said he was searching online and, when Fuji, came up, it triggered his excitement.

James said his current training included speed marching up Snowdon or Yr Wyddfa and then running down, followed by a 10-mile speed march back to where he started.

He did this was while carrying 20kg (three stones) of kit, he added.

The aim for his latest cycle was to promote MATE, where men can talk about issues including mental health, loneliness and addiction.

"I see on a daily basis these men going and opening up about things and it's changing their lives," James said.

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