In 2020, Richard turned 70, Paddy turned 60 and in 2021 Jenny turned 50. To celebrate their milestone birthdays, they cooked up a plan to ride from the north coast of France to the top of the Tourmalet mountain in the Pyrenees. 

That’s over 650 miles and almost 30,000 feet of climbing in 9 days riding. 

The challenge was originally planned for 2020, then put back to 2021 and finally in 2022 is going to happen!

Richard had a more sedate and wine-focussed cycling tour in mind, but they won him over and he’s the fittest 71-year-old they know.

Paddy has been beset by ex-hockey player injuries but is powering through and hoping to ride as much of the route as possible.

Jenny will be providing SportyBakes for the trip and probably questioning her life choices again. 

Their challenge seemed like a brilliant opportunity to raise some funds for charity and they have chosen the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association UK (PWSA). One of Paddy’s sons has Prader-Willi syndrome and although Hamish would love to join a trip like this, he doesn’t have the muscle tone to be able to do it. Obviously, they are paying all their own costs for the trip, so all funds raised will go straight to the PWSA. 

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare, complex genetic disorder that affects both males and females from birth. It causes low muscle tone, mild to moderate learning difficulty. During childhood, an overwhelming and insatiable chronic appetite usually develops which, without rigorous food management and exercise regimes, leads to food seeking, stealing and life threatening obesity. PWS occurs randomly in about 1:22,000 births and it is estimated that there are about 2,000 living with PWS in the UK. PWSA UK is dedicated to supporting those with PWS, their families and carers

The 50-60-70 trio will be joined along the way by friends and family to keep their spirits up and to provide fresh legs and wheels to follow! As the pictures show (click on view gallery), it isn’t their first adventure together, but it’s definitely the biggest so far. 

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