Aaron Moon, Westhoughton, targeting Route 66 world record

A former Royal Marine from Westhoughton is preparing to cycle the length of Route 66 in the United States as he attempts to set two world records while raising money for four charities.

Aaron Moon, 39, will fly to America on July 28 before setting off on July 30, aiming to complete the famous route in a maximum of 22 days.

It comes after a journey that has seen him lose a leg in Afghanistan and survive a blood clot on his lungs and heart last year.

Aaron said: “It’s been a roller coaster as such, because obviously I’ve gone from losing my identity as a Royal Marine Commando and pretty much everything I knew and loved.

Aaron Moon loves his family (Image: Aaron Moon)

“I ended up not really knowing what to do with myself or anything like that.

“And then the next minute, I’m a PGA professional golfer, which is crazy in itself. But then I chose to walk away from professional golf.

“That’s what led me to becoming the world’s first amputee indoor skydiving instructor.

“Every time I’ve come away from something and gone back down, I’ve just found a new purpose to lift myself back up.”

He hopes the challenge will raise money for Team Forces, Wounded Warrior Project, Blesma and Rock2Recovery.

Aaron lost his leg after being injured while serving in Afghanistan in 2009, and said the Route 66 challenge represents his own story of starting again.

Aaron said: “I think it’s mainly the challenge, because obviously with the route, it crosses eight states.

“It’s like ridiculous temperatures. My current business is I travel around talking about mindset and resilience and motivation.

Aaron Moon (Image: Aaron Moon)

“I go inside prisons, talk to convicts about changing their mindset to help reduce reoffending. I go into corporate sports teams, everything like that.

“The whole Route 66 is rebirth.

“The history of it was people upping sticks in the East to chase a new life in the West. So the route kind of personifies me as a person in a way. It kind of works.”

Although he is aiming to break two world records, Aaron said they are not his main motivation.

Aaron added: “I’m not really bothered about the world records.

“They’re just the niceties.

“It’s more about me getting the story out there and helping inspire and show people what you can achieve if you just set your mind to it and you work hard.

“Everybody’s got their Route 66 in life. You just need to get on that bike and cycle past it metaphorically.”