A Harrogate man who planned to cycle 1,000km in under 48 hours has been forced to put the journey on hold due to poor weather.

Simon Gregory was fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of his aunt, who died of cancer in 2019.

Reverend Ruth Scott was a well-known vicar who regularly broadcast on BBC Radio’s Pause for Thought programme.

Simon set off from West Scotland on Friday and aimed to reach Winchester Cathedral by Sunday.

However, due to harsh weather conditions, the decision was made to pause the challenge 500km in.

By this point, Simon had endured 200 miles of headwinds and eight hours of torrential rain.

In a statement posted on his Instagram, he explained the decision:

“It’s not ideal or what I want to do, but I had used around 40% more calories than I anticipated which is more than I can physically absorb.

“This obviously affected how my body functions and how my heart functions.”

The cyclist said that he had a choice between finishing the ride in Winchester or “finishing the ride in hospital”.

The aim of the ride was to raise £25,000 which is enough to fund 101 days of care from Macmillan nurses. So far Simon has raised over £10,000 after weeks of collecting donations.

Michaela Ryder,  from Macmillan said:

“We are immensely proud of Simon and whilst we are disappointed for him due to the bad weather, it was the right decision to pause his challenge at the midway point.

“Simon’s health and wellbeing is the utmost priority and we will remain right by him for when he resumes his challenge from the midway point in the near future.”

Simon plans to continue the cross-country journey after a few weeks’ rest and hopes to complete the next 500km of the ride from North Yorkshire in under 21 hours.

Find out more about the challenge or donate to his fundraising on his JustGiving page.

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