Shearer sets off on 335-mile charity bike ride

Mar 14 2008 by Dan Warburton, The Journal

NEWCASTLE legend Alan Shearer will be spurred on in his attempt to complete a gruelling 335-mile charity bike ride tonight by a challenge laid down by Kevin Keegan – if he arrives in time, he will win a wager.

Shearer and football pundit Adrian Chiles were waved off by the Newcastle United manager at approximately 8.30am yesterday morning from St James’s Park.

And if Shearer reaches the finish line at BBC’s Television Centre in London no later than 7.30pm this evening, he will have won a bet with the Newcastle manager.

Keegan joked: “I’ve had a bet with him, but he will only get it on completion. I won’t say how much, but it’s quite a bit.

“I’m sure that he will make it because that’s the sort of player he is. He came training with the team to prepare and he still looks pretty fit.”

““I know he went to Uganda, and that’s a huge incentive for him to finish.”

The pair have just 36 hours to complete the challenge which is expected to raise thousands for charity.

They were expected to travel 186 miles yesterday – 38 miles more than elite cyclists from the Tour de France embark on in a single day.

Finishing at midnight last night, the pair would have had only five hours’ sleep before getting up at 5am this morning to meet the demanding deadline.

And it is hoped they will arrive in London just in time for Sport Relief’s big night of TV tonight.

Before setting off, former England captain Shearer, 37, said: “It is going to be hard, but we are fairly confident. It will be one hell of a test.

“When you are sat in a shack with five kids and an adult who is dying of Aids, it puts a different perspective on things.

“It is a great cause and hopefully we will raise a lot of money. We will be in pain, but that will drive us on.”

Scores of football fans turned out to wish the pair luck yesterday. Led by five other cyclists, Shearer and Chiles left the ground to cheers and applause. Amongst the crowd was former Newcastle and England player Peter Beardsley, who described Shearer as the “toughest player” he had ever played with. He said: “I know they will do it. Alan doesn’t do anything unless he can do it, and if he does, it will be the greatest thing he has ever done.”

In the team of riders is Shearer’s agent, Simon Bayliff, who accompanied him to Uganda in January.

There they met a bedridden 48-year-old mother called Grace who was dying of Aids. She is being supported by a Sport Relief-backed project.

Meanwhile Chiles visited Liberia before the trip and saw an education programme which helps some of the 250,000 orphans in the West African country. He said: “I will have a photo of some of their faces in my mind as we slave up hill and down dale.”