Photo credit of redbubble.com <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Design by chaayasartsy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TV and radio presenter Paddy McGuinness has been overwhelmed by public support during his 300-mile charity bike ride for BBC Children in Need<\/em>. The 51-year-old, known for hosting Top Gear<\/em> and Radio 2\u2019s Smile Every Sunday<\/em>, embarked on the challenge Monday at Wrexham AFC\u2019s Racecourse Ground, aiming to finish in Glasgow on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Riding a Raleigh Chopper, his dream childhood bike, customized in the colors of Pudsey the Bear, McGuinness described the experience as unforgettable. Speaking to BBC Breakfast<\/em> on Friday, he said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s drizzling, it\u2019s dark, and it\u2019s freezing, but still people come out. I\u2019ve been absolutely blown away by the amount of support. Everywhere I\u2019ve been\u2014Wales, England, Scotland\u2014people have been lining the roads. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Despite the enthusiasm, McGuinness admitted the journey has been physically grueling. Riding a bike designed for children has taken its toll on his body, leaving him with back and knee pain. \u201cIt\u2019s a child\u2019s bike, so you\u2019re in a stressed position the whole time. My knees are completely shot now,\u201d he said. His physio has been a vital part of the journey, offering treatment at every stop to keep him moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ride has also included special moments. Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy joined him for part of the journey, 1970s pop group Black Lace greeted him, and McGuinness was moved to tears after receiving cards and drawings from his children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As he neared the finish line, McGuinness reflected on how much he\u2019ll miss the experience. \u201cOn Monday, when I\u2019m walking to the shop for milk, I\u2019ll be thinking, why aren\u2019t the cars going past waving? I\u2019ll miss that connection and support from everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donations for BBC Children in Need<\/em> have surpassed \u00a36.8 million, and contributions can still be made via the BBC website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit of redbubble.com Design by chaayasartsy TV and radio presenter Paddy McGuinness has been overwhelmed by public support during his 300-mile charity bike ride for BBC Children in Need. The 51-year-old, known for hosting Top Gear and Radio 2\u2019s Smile Every Sunday, embarked on the challenge Monday at Wrexham AFC\u2019s Racecourse Ground, aiming to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":1300,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[245,248,34,164,240],"tags":[249,250,23,76],"class_list":["post-1299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-children","category-children-in-need","category-entertainment","category-events","category-national","tag-celebrity","tag-children-in-need","tag-news","tag-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/kentstandard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/kentstandard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/kentstandard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/kentstandard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/kentstandard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/kentstandard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1301,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/kentstandard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299\/revisions\/1301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/kentstandard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/kentstandard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/kentstandard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/kentstandard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n