Paddy McGuinness has said that the reaction he got from the public on the first day of his 300-mile ultra-endurance cycling challenge "brought a lump" to his throat.
McGuinness is riding a Raleigh Chopper from Wrexham to Glasgow in five days as part of what is being called a three nations challenge. Partnering with Raleigh, the 51-year-old was provided with a custom adapted bike for the challenge he is now attempting.
"Today was absolutely immense," McGuinness said on Instagram. "I cannot tell you how much it meant to me seeing so many people lining the roads. The first 30 miles was just crazy! Literally people on the streets all the way."
McGuinness completed a training ride with Sir Chris Hoy in the UK’s Peak District before setting off from Wrexham on Monday morning. Both men shared updates from the ride on social media which saw five-time Olympic medallist Hoy lead McGuinness on an ascent up Blaze Hill, near Bollington, in the local area.
"It was brutal but I managed it without stopping," McGuinness said of the experience on Instagram.
A comment from Hoy posted on McGuinness' page shed more light on the television presenter’s ninth day of training on the Chopper.
“Not gonna lie. I thought you were about to puke halfway up! Really impressive determination mate, that was a tough route on any bike, but on the Chopper it was brutal,” Hoy wrote.
McGuinness has documented his other cycling related experiences on social media in the build up to setting off on his challenge. This included him applying chamois cream to his bib shorts for the first time which, on Instagram, he joked made his “teeth itch”.
He also explained in another post that he’d be using flat pedals for the ride as opposed to clipless as there was no time to get used to using cleats.
“I’m told that this is what you’re supposed to do,” he said in a short video clip of him applying the cream to the chamois pad in his shorts. “But oh my God! This is horrendous,” he added as he applied a huge fistful of cream to some shorts.
McGuinness's ride can be followed all week across the BBC, before Children in Need on Friday evening.
