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BBC Radio Lancashire and North West Tonight presenter Graham Liver has raised over £7,500 for Sport Relief by riding from London to Preston in five days, on a tandem.
An elated Graham crossed the finish line, along with comedian Ted Robbins, who assisted the last leg of the journey. He arrived at the Preston Flag Market shortly after 3.30pm, on Friday 23rd March.
“Me and Ted [Robbins] had a few practice runs before we started this challenge and it took a while to get used to,” said Liver. ”You have to be in sync, otherwise it’s easy to fall off. We were lucky to get away with the weather, but if it had rained at least we would have known it was for a good cause.”
He continued: “I want to say a big thank you to all the team and to everybody who showed up to cheer me on. Riding a tandem is much harder than you think, but we have made it!”
Award winning events company, Pennine Events, were chosen to manage the event because of their expertise within the field. They were responsible for all the event logistics, which included, planning the route, co-ordinating the ride and providing Liver with round the clock support.
“The ride was a huge success,” said Mark Sandamas, director of Pennine Events. “Each day Graham had to wake up at the crack of dawn to present his breakfast show, before taking to the saddle. The tandem’s second seat was occupied by a variety of celebrities, including comedian Ted Robbins and former footballer Kevin Gallagher to help him tackle the day’s miles in style.”
He continued: “Riding a tandem is a challenge on its own. When we were planning the route we had to bear in mind how suitable and wide the cycle paths were, as well as ensuring we have all the know-how, tools and spares required to carry out maintenance.”
Founded in 2002, Pennine Events organises mass-participation events, such as the multi-award winning Pedal for Scotland, Daily Mirror Great Manchester Cycle, Liverpool-Chester-Liverpool Bike Ride, Bradford City Run, Under and Over the Mersey, The Great Notts Bike Ride, as well as crowd management at the 2007 Tour de France.
