Paddy McGuiness has admitted he’s ‘been crying his eyes out’ during his brutal 300 mile charity cycle as he raised £7,309,045 for Children In End on Friday.
The TV personality, 51, is just hours away from finishing his ride in Glasgow on his tiny chopper bike, that has just three gears.
He has travelled through Flintshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire, Westmorland, Cumbria, Dumfriesshire and Lanarkshire.
Tuning into Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 show bright and early this morning, Paddy admitted ‘everything’s sore’ before kicking off the last stretch off his ride.
He said: ‘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.
‘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.
Paddy McGuiness has admitted he’s ‘been crying his eyes out’ during his brutal 300 mile charity cycle as he raised £7,309,045 for Children In End on Friday
The TV personality is just hours away from finishing his ride in Glasgow on his tiny chopper bike, that has just three gears
‘I don’t know how I will feel, how I will react. I know one thing – I’ve done some crying this last few days – flipping heck Zoe! I’ve been crying my eyes out!’, he added.
Zoe said: ‘You’ve got to get it out! I’ve read loads of messages from people saying ‘hearing Paddy have a cry, it’s so good.
‘Men struggle sometimes to let it out, you’ve made men and women have a cry, listening to you. You’ve cycled, 265 miles, will you ever be parted!’
Paddy will be greeted by crowds of people lining the streets and cheering him on when he arrives at the BBC’s Pacific Quay in Glasgow.
Brian May shared a sweet message to Paddy amid his cycle, saying: ‘Well Paddy has just done this outstanding ride up to Glasgow, please give him my love and tell him I hope he gets some rest soon.
‘And for you Bailey, Merry Christmas and much love and rock on, ok, God bless you.’
Girls Aloud have also released I’ll Stand By You (Sarah’s Version) to raise proceeds for BBC Children In Need.
Paddy revealed he became ‘choked up’ after seeing the amount of people who had come out to support him as he prepared for his 300 mile cycle challenge for Children In Need on Monday.
Girls Aloud have also released I’ll Stand By You (Sarah’s Version) to raise proceeds for BBC Children In Need
He opened up to Zoe on her show moments before he set off, where he told how several people had turned up to Wrexham Football ground to cheer him on.
Paddy explained to Zoe that seeing the huge crowd of supporters on Monday morning gave him a ‘proper lift’ after he admitted to feeling ‘down and dejected’ during the days of intense training which left him not ‘knowing what’s going on.’
Despite confessing how tough he found the training, Paddy told how he couldn’t wait to get on his Chopper bike called Patch and ‘get cracking’.
During his chat with presenter Zoe, 53, Paddy told how he couldn’t sleep the night before, revealing how he was both ‘excited’ and ‘nervous’ for his big challenge ahead.
The TV presenter also cheekily revealed that he wouldn’t be wearing a full on Lycra ensemble for the challenge as he doesn’t have the ‘certain physique’ to pull it off – noting he’ll be wearing normal shorts on top of his Lycra.
Paddy was joined at the football ground by the Rhos Male Voice Choir, who sang a rousing rendition of Wrexham FC’s anthem to boost his morale.
Shortly ahead of setting off, Paddy also received a special message from his pal, cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy, who gave him words of encouragement amid their training together.
Chris, 48, told Paddy that this would be the ‘toughest thing he’d ever do’ and warned that the next five days would be ‘gruelling’.
Paddy explained to Zoe that seeing the huge crowd of supporters on Monday morning gave him a ‘proper lift’ after he admitted to feeling ‘down and dejected’ during the days of intense training
During his chat with presenter Zoe on Monday, Paddy told how he couldn’t sleep the night before, revealing how he was both ‘excited’ and ‘nervous’ for his big challenge ahead
The TV presenter also cheekily revealed that he wouldn’t be wearing a full on Lycra ensemble for the challenge as he doesn’t have the ‘certain physique’ to pull it off
But he reminded him that in tough times, he should remember ‘why’; he’s doing the challenge, before adding that he’s ‘inspiring’ the nation and everyone is ‘so proud’ of him.
Paddy said he remembers growing up desperately wishing for certain things.
And one of those was a purple Chopper, his bike of choice for his charity ride across the UK.
He told the publication that as a boy he got a BMX 2000 as a present and although he has fond memories of that bike, what he really wanted was a purple Chopper.
He said: ‘I remember thinking, ‘God, I’d give my right arm for that bike.’ I became mates with him and borrowed it off him for a while and swapped it for a Star Wars AT-AT [All Terrain Armoured Transport] toy.’
And decades later, during the first Covid lockdown, to cheer himself up, Paddy bought himself the same bike he had wanted as a child for £400 on eBay.
And it’s his love of that vintage bike that inspired him to take on the mammoth task of cycling across the country for Children In Need.
The presenter will be riding a bright yellow Chopper, complete with Pudsey Bear’s face on its frame for the endurance task.
The star has had no help from a personal trainer, and the only cycling advice he has had has been from Olympic gold medalist Sir Chris Hoy (pictured) who recently revealed his terminal cancer diagnosis
Impressively, the star has had no help from a personal trainer, and the only professional cycling advice he has had has been from Olympic gold medalist Sir Chris Hoy.
The cyclist, revealed last month that his cancer had become terminal.
The six-time Olympic gold medalist shocked the sporting world when he revealed he would be living with stage four cancer for ‘the rest of his life’.
But despite the difficult news, the athlete has continued to love cycling and has been helping his neighbour and friend Paddy with training.
Paddy McGuinness does Radio 2’s Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge for BBC Children in Need – donate at www.bbc.co.uk/paddy
