1 week Ago By Jane Bradley
Scottish entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter’s charity is to match donations for Paddy McGuinness’ Chopper Challenge, which will today see him cycle between Dumfries and Galloway and South Lanarkshire on his Raleigh bike. The Hunter Foundation has said it will match Radio 2 donations from the public for Children in Need, up to £2 million. The TV and radio presenter is cycling 300 miles from Wrexham in Wales to finish his Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge in Glasgow.
He has so far covered 200 miles and raised £3.3m - all on a Raleigh Chopper, the iconic children’s bike popular in the 1970s. His journey is being covered by Children in Need via a Paddytracker website.
On Thursday morning, he began a leg of the route which was set to take him from Ecclefechan in Dumfries and Galloway to Strathaven in South Lanarkshire . Speaking on Radio 2 on Thursday morning, Mr McGuinness said: “We are going to get to Glasgow. By hook or by crook I will drag the bike and walk if I have to!” He added that he was struggling with the cold and sore quad muscles after climbing Shap Summit in Cumbria yesterday.
He said: “After doing Shap yesterday it’s my quads today. They are so tight, and my fingertips and my toes today, I’ve never felt them as cold, no matter what I’m doing, you know? I’m trying to wiggle my hands, put on toe warmers, you know, it’s just absolutely freezing.” The announcement about the Hunter Foundation’s match funding was made live on Radio 2 on Wednesday night.
The announcement said: “For every five [pounds] he will give five and for every 10 they will donate 10.” The businessman, one of Scotland’s richest men, is estimated to be worth around £700 million. He and his wife Marion set up The Hunter Foundation in 1998 and have since donated to causes including Band Aid, University of Strathclyde, Comic Relief, the Alzheimer's Society, Make Poverty History, and the William J Clinton Foundation.
Tomorrow, Mr McGuinness will aim to finish his ride by cycling from Strathaven to Glasgow, via Rutherglen. On the first day of the challenge, Scottish cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, who has terminal cancer, told Mr McGuinness: “There is no doubt this will be the toughest thing that you ever do. “Paddy you must keep pedalling on your little chopper.
This will be five relentless days over brutal terrain but when it gets really tough just remember why you’re doing this. “You’re doing this to inspire the nation. You’re doing this for Children in Need.
And we’re all behind you.”.
