A Hull man has shed three stones and upped his fitness to be ready for a charity challenge next week.
John Hirst, a maintenance facilities supervisor, is joining a group of cyclists to ride the Trans Pennine Trail from Southport to Hornsea, starting out on Saturday, May 24. The 215-mile route will be covered by the team in 24 hours, with the aim of raising funds and awareness for Life For a Kid and The Brain Tumour Charity, among a number of worthy causes.
“I’ve never done anything as extreme as this before,” said John. “The most I’ve ever biked is probably 60 miles; now I’m cycling from Southport to Hornsea.”
The group’s transport will leave The Grandale pub, Sutton Park, at 6.30am on the Saturday, journeying to Southport where the cyclists aim to start the gruelling ride between 10am and 11am. John said: “We have a support vehicle with us along the way – I know some of the riders might end up in the minibus but I am determined to make it to the end.
“We’ve had lots of local companies in Hull sponsor us with our shirts – I work with a lot of firms in the area – and we thank all of those and it would be amazing if anyone would like to donate to support these great charities, or even help with some drinks and energy bars for all of us taking part. Once we make it back to Hornsea and jump (collapse) in the sea, we will return to The Grandale pub for a barbecue at around 12.30pm on Sunday, where everyone is welcome.”
(Image: submitted image)
John said it was through the Life For a Kid founder Dean Hoggard having an event at The Grandale at Christmas that he “managed to get signed up for this bike ride”. He said: “Somehow I’ve managed to shed three stones since New Year; I thought, I can’t do that weighing nearly 18 stones.
“We’ll be taking the ride nice and steady. We’ve been aiming to do 14mph [while training] but I think that will be impossible to maintain on the day so we’ll possibly slow it down to about 10mph.”
John said the thought of the distance was probably the most daunting thing. “We’re not bothered what the weather does; it will be a case of keeping hydrated and we’ve got plenty of protein bars and drinks.
“I think we’ll be in the peaks near Manchester during the night.” John said: “One of the charities we are doing this for is The Brain Tumour Charity, because someone we know has a brain tumour and it’s terminal.
“In the end, whatever we raise we will probably put in one pot. We’ve already said that for Life For a Kid, we are putting at least £200 into that charity, as it’s what started all this off, and whatever we get on top we can donate to other charities.”
You can find a link to John’s GoFundMe appeal page here.
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