TV star Paddy McGuinness described the reception he got in Strathaven last night as “magic” as he gears up for the final leg of his gruelling cycle challenge for Children in Need.
Locals lined the streets waving Pudsey flags and banners as the former Take Me Out and Top Gear presenter whizzed by on his customised Raleigh Chopper on day four of the Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge for the BBC charity.
On his toughest day yet, the Radio 2 host pedalled 64 miles across 12 hours to Strathaven.
On his arrival in the South Lanarkshire town at 7.50pm Paddy told Jo Whiley the hills were “brutal”, saying: “Coming up into Strathaven the hills, oh they were brutal, but you know as I were getting closer and people were coming out, they were at the side of the road, they were cheering and you start seeing the lights and you go ‘here we go everybody’, oh honestly, as I came into town I can’t get over the amount of people who are here tonight. It’s magic, absolutely magic!”
Resting at the Strathaven Hotel before the big finale at Glasgow today, Paddy was treated to an ice bath to ease his aching muscles.
He added: “I am exhausted. [At the hotel] there will be bath full of ice and I will be a very happy chap when I’m in it, honestly, I’ll be absolutely over the moon, it’s beautiful here… everyone’s living the dream here.”
This morning at 6.45am, Paddy set off for the final 18.5 miles of his incredible cycling challenge, completing almost 300 miles from Wrexham to Glasgow across five days, through Wales, England and Scotland, all on a little Raleigh Chopper which he’s nicknamed Patch.
Paddy spoke to Zoe Ball on the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show at 6.45am this morning and described the atmosphere in Strathaven as “mind-blowing”.
“I came into Strathaven last night, it took me back to the 80s when Liverpool used to do an open top bus parade when they won the FA Cup, it’s like that”, he said. “Honestly, it was unbelievable, it was mind-blowing. I try and go round and high five everyone. They’re like – you’ve done it, we’re all behind you. It just pushes you for that last little bit.”
He added: “As usual at this time of the morning, everything is sore, everything is aching but again I’ve just rocked up here where I’m going to set off, it’s dark, it’s a little bit drizzly, and people are already here to wish me well so you can’t not be in a positive mind about that.”
Commenting on the atmosphere in his hometown, Strathaven resident Bobby Smith said: “There was a power cut before Paddy arrived into Strathaven, hence the pun ‘no lighty, no likey’! There were people everywhere lining the route to the sports centre. Everyone was excited to see Paddy and his entourage arriving into Strathaven. The cheers were deafening and I managed to get one of the thousands of high fives Paddy was giving out. The look on his face as well was sheer amazement at the amount of people who turned out. A brief but brilliant moment for a lot of people in my wee hometown to see this man on his epic trek!”
Zoe kept everyone across Paddy’s progress as he cycled through East Kilbride and Rutherglen to Glasgow. She spoke to Sir Tom Hunter who greeted Paddy outside Greggs at the Kingsgate Retail Park in East Kilbride. He has pledged to match every donation up to an incredible £3 million.
The total raised for Children in Need this morning was a whopping £6,577,494.
Track Paddy via bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/shows/paddytracker/ or via bbc.co.uk/live/
Radio 2 presenter Paddy McGuinness completed BBC Radio 2’s Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge for BBC Children in Need – donate at www.bbc.co.uk/paddy.
Watch the TV documentary of his whole challenge, Paddy: The Ride Of My Life, on Tuesday, November 19 at 8pm on BBC ONE and hear him read the CBeebies Bedtime Story at 6.50pm on Friday, November 15 on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer.
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