Jonathon's in no mood for a brak after South Pole trip

Restless explorer Jonathon Bradshaw is back pulling tyres along Middleton beach.

The conqueror of the South Pole has restarted the training regime of hauling a lorry tyre and a large car tyre for several hours a time which took him to the southern end of the earth.

His goal this time is to complete a journey to the northern extreme of the globe.

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He can't wait to get started. He expects to spend the spring, once the Arctic snow has begun to melt, resuming his cycle ride from London to New York via the North Pole.

His bike is in storage in Canada. He will pick up the route in the remote Labrador area before reaching civilisation in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and further south down the US's eastern seaboard to New York.

He was cycling along the epic journey when he got sidetracked to take on Antarctica.

He and three fellow explorers reached the most remote point on earth after 57 days, four hours and five minutes of trekking across an icy wilderness unimaginable to anyone who has never been there.

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And few have. Jonathon (36) believes he was only the 123rd person to have reached the South Pole.

More have been into outer space than have trekked through temperatures below -40C, that's four times colder than a domestic freezer.

The goal of the Beyond Endurance team of Irish explorers in reaching the South Pole was achieved at around 4.30pm on January 8.

They made their way back to Chile on their return to Ireland where they have become national heroes as the country's first successful South Pole explorers.

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They arrived at Cork Airport on January 17 to a party involving some 200 well-wishers.

Next was an afternoon tea with the Irish Republic's president, Mary McAleese, before a guest slot on The Late, Late Show tv chat show.

All that before Jonathon could experience the simple pleasures of his parents' home in East Close for the past five years.

He arrived back with his parents, Maria and John Bradshaw, in the late afternoon of January 20.

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His first home-cooked meal was steak, baked potato and salad accompanied by a glass of red wine. It made a change from the freeze-dried meals with water which the explorers stuffed into their mouths for 500 calorie boosters every 90 minutes of the day to fuel their exertions over the unforgiving terrain.

But other simpler sensations gave him pleasure in his first hours back.

"A lot of things are fantastic. You are seeing colours again. All I saw were white and blue for two months. Now, I can see the green of the grass. Feeling dampness is another pleasure.

"In Antarctica, the air is so dry there is no dampness and no moisture. Everything is frozen," he explained.

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A fresh change of clothes after living in the same set of thermal underwear for two months is another aspect of life which has sudden appeal.

But Jonathon had no idea a year ago he was about to go to the South Pole. He quit his job of the previous 14 years running an IT software development firm in Bracknell before he wanted to swap commuting for exploring.

His cycle ride seemed a good way of satisfying the craving '“ until he came up against the Danes. They refused to let him cycle across Greenland for safety reasons.

As an alternative, they suggested joining a cross-country skiing expedition and collecting his cycle at the other end.

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It was while he was on the 31-day journey he met three Irish explorers '“ Pat Falvey (50), Dr Clare O'Leary (35) and Shaun Menzies (42) '“ training for the South Pole.

The hour he spent with them changed his life. They persuaded him to use his Irish heritage to join them.

He met them again ten days later, on September 9, to confirm his intentions.

He returned home with a 120-strong shopping list of specialised equipment needed to cope with the extreme conditions.

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Outdoor shop owner Dave Pegler, of Arundel, met the demands within a week.

Jonathon was on his way. He left Middleton on October 20 to go to Ireland before leaving for Antarctica.

The journey across the frozen wasteland began on November 8.

Ahead lay 1,140km of indescribable bleakness. Fourteen of the days were a complete whiteout with nil visibility and gale-force winds.

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Jonathon described the mental strengths needed to cope with the challenge.

"You need to be a pretty laid-back person and not allow little things to get on your nerves.

"You also need to put yourself in a day dream.

"You can't think about the large distance you still have to cover. To do that would send you mad."

Instead, he treated each day as a working day by following the same routine.

Between ten and 30km were covered by the explorers daily.

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They walked pulling their 150kg sledges for 90 minutes at a time before a ten-minute food and drink break. They walked until 5.30pm.

Each hour saw Jonathon focus his thoughts on different aspects of his life such as family and friends.

The efforts of Ernest Shackleton in his doomed attempts to reach the South Pole were almost foremost in his thoughts.

"The equipment might have changed since those days, but the mental health you need is the same and the conditions are just as horrendous," pointed out Jonathon.