Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Riding the Rickshaw Challenge for BBC’s One Show was tougher than in previous years

Post Thumbnail

This year’s Rickshaw Challenge for the BBC One Show in aid of Children In Need was tough.

For the last seven years I have first pre-ridden the route prior to the televised event and then ridden as a chaperone rider for the actual event and 2019 was one of the hardest we have done, both in terms of weather and terrain.

Starting in Holyhead we travelled through Snowdonia before leaving Wales and crossing the Peak District and then turning south and heading for London.

We journeyed over 400 miles and climbed over 22,000ft of ascent; we battled through sleet and snow, torrential rain and flooding; we passed over the steepest street in the world and the highest village in the UK and the six inspirational young riders that rode the rickshaw raised a record-breaking £8.5 million.

Riding through the town of Shefford, on our final day was one of the most incredible feelings I have had on a bike. The young rider on the rickshaw was Josh. Beside us was Sir Tom Hunter, who was initially topping up donations by 40% (later that day he announced he would raise that to a £3 million donation).

And on both sides of the road the pavement was lined with thousands of screaming people. Afterwards the fundraising team estimated that there were over 1,000 school pupils cheering and screaming.

There were thousands of others too and the tunnel of noise took us five minutes to cycle through. The emotional swell of the noise the crowds created, all chanting for Josh and Pudsey had tears running down my cheeks as I rode alongside the rickshaw.

I realised that the Rickshaw Challenge was about more than a cycle challenge. The young people riding faced greater challenges in their day-to-day lives. Kelsey, who is blind after losing his sight to cancer in his eyes and Adelle who is recovering from acute myeloid leukaemia were just two of those six riders.

Each of them went through massive highs and lows as the week went on. Uche, who was a victim of knife crime, broke down in tears as he reached the summit of Flash, the highest village in Britain.

He had dug deep into his physical and emotional reserves to pedal the rickshaw up the long climb to the village, but that individual spirit to fight on was a microcosm of what the Rickshaw Challenge and Children in Need represented.

The charities that would benefit from the money raised would support countless other young people who had to dig deep into their reserves every day to achieve what many of us take for granted.

I remember once, many years ago I was supporting a charity ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats. One rider, whose wife and daughter had both died from cancer, was battling up a steep climb from Drumnadrochit in torrential rain.

As he reached the top, he told me of his daughter losing her leg to the cancer that eventually took her life. She struggled with a prosthetic leg for months, but he could still remember the look of triumph on her face when she managed to walk, unaided down the road to see her gran.

He told me that smile on her face still stays with him and when times are hard, he remembers how his daughter would find joy in the smallest things she did and how it keeps him strong now.

I think that story represents what the Rickshaw Challenge now means to many people. It has become a symbol of the power of pushing on through the hardest of times and emerging stronger on the other side.

Join the Blazing Saddles Strava Club at: www.strava.com/clubs/BlazingSaddlesWeekendCourier
Where to Ride:
Tentsmuir Point Nature Reserve
Description:
Ideal for family rides and gravel enthusiasts the tracks and trails around Tentsmuir offer a large area to ride. There are three parking points detailed below:

Kinshaldy – OS 1:50,000 Map 59 – NO488 236

Morton Lochs – OS 1:50,000 Map 59 – NO465264

Lundin Bridge – OS 1:50,000 Map 59 – NO467278