A Macclesfield man will cycle 874 miles to generate funds for a local youth charity.

Simon Griffiths - who is General Secretary of Macclesfield cycling collective Macclesfield Wheelers - will bike from Land's End to John O'Groats (LEJOG) on May 8 2022.

Simon started cycling seriously two years ago, and in that time was looking for a challenge for his newfound fitness.

The idea of doing Land's End to John O'Groats (LEJOG) took shape in December 2020 and, as with all things, seemed so far away at the time.

In the intervening 18 months, Simon has cycled over 7000 miles to prepare for this event and, as such, the mere 1000 miles of LEJOG should be a breeze! To make things harder, the route also climbs more than twice the height of Mount Everest!

Simon with Ann Wright of Just Drop In.

With his training underway, thoughts turned to how he could use this challenge to raise money for charity. They elected to choose Brook Street good cause Just Drop In, who provide free and friendly support services for young people from Macclesfield.

Simon and his wife, Carole, have known Just Drop-In for a number of years, with Carole volunteering for the charity for a year. This, combined with the Macclesfield Wheelers adopting Just Drop-In as their designated charity for 2022, made Just Drop-In the perfect charity to support.

Ann Wright, Just Drop-In's Chief Officer, said, "Thanks to Simon for taking on this challenge for Just Drop-In. We are always humbled by the wonderful community support we receive. Every pedal and penny will be put to supporting local young people to find their feet in the wake of the pandemic."

With the charity selected, the time has come to focus on the last six weeks of preparation.

Tickets have been booked, the bike has been serviced, and the legs are ready for the rigours ahead. In the end, though, it will be a pedal into the unknown: over the course of 1000 miles in 14 days, there will be ups and downs geographically, physically, and mentally.

As Simon winds his way northwards, we will be keenly following Simon's progress and keeping you up to date through the Macclesfield Wheelers' social media channels.

Signpost at Land's End. (Image - CC 2.0 Unchanged Kenneth Allen bit.ly/3jBlN0j)

And no, starting from John O'Groats would not make it downhill all the way...

The iconic route takes most cyclists ten to 14 days.

The Great British route from Cornwall to Caithness route is undertaken by thousands of cyclists, runners and road-trippers each year.

In a statement, Macclesfield Wheelers added: "Just Drop-In provides free mental health support to young people aged 12-25 in and around Macclesfield. The pandemic has only exacerbated the need for mental health services so we're very proud to help support them."

Macclesfield: If you would like to donate to Simon's fundraiser, please follow the link below. All donations go directly to Just Drop-In.

Simon has already smashed his £1000 target, and is almost at £1500 as of publication. Click the red link to donate: here.

Just Drop In has served our town for 21 years, to find more about them, please click here.

Macclesfield: You can follow them on Facebook, where they recently passed 1400 followers.

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