Paddy McGuinness drew parallels between riding with Sir Chris Hoy and “having a kickabout with Ronaldo” following his completion of the 300-mile BBC Children In Need charity ride, pedalling all the way from Wales to Scotland.
Kicking off on Monday at Wrexham AFC’s Racecourse Ground, he remarks that Glasgow was “lit up in sunshine” as he neared Friday’s finish line.
Embracing nostalgia, the 51 year old tackled the Radio 2 Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge on his dream childhood bike, a Raleigh Chopper, which he’d named Patch decked out in the theme of Pudsey, the charity’s beloved bear.
A surprise awaited him just before 9am, with Sir Tom Hunter vowing to match every donation through the Hunter Foundation up to a staggering £3 million. Enthusiasts thronged the city streets, their cheers heralding his approach to BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay headquarters; McGuinness clocked in at 10:28am.
His arrival coincided with Zoe Ball hosting her Radio 2 Breakfast Show live from the foyer. Overcome with emotion, he expressed: “I can’t believe it. Coming out of East Kilbride and I were looking at Glasgow, and it was lit up in sunshine.
“And the streets were lined, I had Sir Tom at the side of me as well. I came around the corner there, what a sight, what a feeling, thank you so much everybody. Wow.”
To date, the endeavour has amassed over £7.5 million for Children In Need.
McGuinness embarked on the final stretch of his epic journey from Strathaven to Glasgow beneath Friday’s early light and affectionately admitted he’d pine for the adventure once returning to his usual Sunday gig presenting the ‘Paddy McGuinness’ show on Radio 2.
After crossing the finish line, an exhausted McGuinness shared: “I have blisters, my knees have gone, my legs have gone, my neck is in bits, my back’s seized up.”
He went on to say: “It’ll probably be the next few days where I start to physically feel everything but I do need a little bit of time just to take stock of the last few days because it has been absolutely – I know they call it a challenge – but it doesn’t feel like that, I feel privileged, really.”
During preparations, McGuinness teamed up with Scottish cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy, who also accompanied him on part of the trek.
Recalling the training, he said: “When Sir Chris Hoy came to my house about three or four days before the challenge, he took me to a hill called Blaze Hill. If you’re into biking it’s torturous. It’s ridiculously steep and it’s a mile long.
“He had me up there, where he was coaching me all the way, which is impressive in itself.”
“I don’t know how he could even talk because I couldn’t. And when he got to the top he said, ‘right, you’ve just done that on that chopper. People on 18-gear bikes struggle with that. So everything you’ve got ahead of you won’t be as steep as that’.”
He explained: “He taught me about pacing myself and not going too fast. When you’re on a flat area you think you’ll get a bit of time back, but he said to save as much energy as possible. It’s been invaluable.”
He reflected: “I think we did about 17 miles together, and that is like equating it to being a football fan and having a kickabout with Ronaldo or something like that.”
He also had the opportunity to ride alongside philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter for about nine miles towards the end of his challenge. Expressing appreciation for Hunter’s contribution to Children In Need, he shared: “What he did was really generous, £2 million pounds, then changing it to £3 million pounds.”
He continued: “When you’re trying to thank someone like that, I couldn’t really get the words out that I wanted to say to him.
“What was really nice was coming into Glasgow with the sun shining on it, and he was kind of telling me a little bit about the city and being a tour guide.”
He enthused: “I’m so glad he got to witness what I’ve witnessed.”
He described the experience as “a moment in time I will take to my grave, and I will never forget it.”
Donate to Paddy McGuinness does Radio 2’s Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge for BBC Children in Need here: www.bbc.co.uk/paddy.
Paddy: The Ride Of My Life, airs on Tuesday, November 19 at 8pm on BBC ONE. You can also hear Paddy read the CBeebies Bedtime Story at 6.50pm on Friday, November 15 on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer.
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