Paddy McGuinness Undertakes 300-Mile Cycle for Charity on Modified Chopper Bike

The well-known television personality Paddy McGuinness is set to embark on a formidable 300-mile cycling journey, aiming to raise funds for the charity Children in Need. The challenge, described as an ultra-endurance cycle, will see McGuinness starting his ride on Monday, November 11, during the BBC‘s Breakfast Show. The journey will begin in Wrexham and conclude in Glasgow by Friday, November 15.

McGuinness will be riding a Raleigh Chopper bike, a design originally intended for children, which has undergone several modifications for the challenge. However, McGuinness has expressed reservations about the bike’s suitability for the long-distance ride, despite the upgrades. “When we had the meeting about it, doing the challenge, which is a stretch anyhow, I kind of had the rose-tinted spectacles on and thought, ‘Eh, why don’t we do it on a Raleigh Chopper,’” he said during an interview on The One Show with presenters Alex Jones and Roman Kemp.

Despite fond childhood memories of the Chopper bike, McGuinness quickly realized the impracticality of using the modified version for such a demanding challenge. He shared, “What they’ve done, they said, ‘We’re going to modify it for you’, and how they’ve modified it is they’ve made the seat more uncomfortable and moved the gears.” With determination, he added, “That’s it, so I’ve got to kind of just now get on with it!”

The route will take McGuinness through eight counties, including Flintshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire, Westmorland, Cumberland, Dumfriesshire, and Lanarkshire. Commenting on the undertaking, Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, remarked, “As with Vernon’s Ultra ULTRA Marathon last year, this is one man attempting to do an extraordinary challenge. Not least as he’ll be on a bike which is designed for style not endurance cycling!”

Thomas expressed her admiration for McGuinness’s commitment, saying, “We can only imagine how hard it is going to be for Paddy to cycle from Wales into England then onto Scotland over five days, so I’d like to thank him for agreeing to take on this mammoth challenge.” She also acknowledged the role of Radio 2 listeners in offering support, “I know the amazing Radio 2 listeners will do all they can to support him along the way!”