Cycling pals take on ultimate challenge

Jim Wilkinson, John Duraid, Simon Wright, and Dean Hitchens-Orr will attempt to ride up and down Froggatt Hill 39 times in a row - an extreme challenge they hope will take them between 22 and 24 hours, without stopping to sleep.

“It’s a crazy idea that started after a few drinks one night,” said Dean.

“We thought it would be great to cycle up the equivalent of Everest in 24 hours in support of two charities that mean a lot to us: the Royal British Legion, and Horseback UK.”

Everesting is a national fundraising campaign which aims to commemorate 100 years since the end of World War One in 1918.

Simon, who first met Dean 30 years ago whilst they were both training in the military, before bumping into him decades later in their mutual home city of Sheffield, said: “The concept of Everesting is fiendishly simple; pick any hill, anywhere in the world, and run, walk or ride it repeatedly until you climb 8,848m – the equivalent of Mt Everest.

“This is about us doing something extraordinary to remember those who endured something extraordinary for us.”

Jim added: “The four of us are aged between 51 and 57 so this won’t be easy. It takes about 30 minutes to ride up and down Froggatt Hill once, and my personal fastest time is 16 minutes, but that’s doing it fresh. We know how tough it’s going to be after a few hours, once our bodies start getting tired.

“It’s like running a marathon for the first time, in that we’re not altogether sure what to expect, but it’s for a great cause, and we have great support.”

Visit werememberthem.org.uk to donate.