91-year-old Chorley great-granded takes on mammoth 500 mile cycle challenge this weekend
There’s just days to go before an interpid Chorley Great-Grandad sets off on a 500-mile cycle ride to support a local charity.
This weekend, great-granded Tony Newton will begin an epic 500-mile cycle ride.
The 91-year-old from Heskin, Chorley, is taking on the cycle trek starting on the TransPennine route to raise funds for St James’s Place Charitable Foundation in aid of Inspire Youth Zone, Chorley.
To boost his achievements, in addition, St James’s Place Plc will match fund every pound raised by Tony providing grants for even more charities helping children and young people.
Accompanied by family and friends, Tony will be setting off around 10.30am on Sunday from the Spar Store in Heskin, heading towards Derbyshire. Amongst the crowd cheering him off will be young people from Inspire Youth Zone and members of the Green Team, local supporters and children from Heskin Pembertons C of E school.
Although Tony will do most of the challenge alone, staying in small B&Bs to get some rest, he will be accompanied at the start by his wife, Dorothy, 88, as well as daugher Ruth, 65, grandaughter Hannah, 42, and great grandsons, Moses, 13, and Beau, 11. Friends from Mawdesley U3A Cycling group will be joining them and David Tilson, another U3A group member will lead the party – lights flashing and horn sounding – on his Yamaha Tracer 900+ motorbike.
The younger members of the family will travel about 10 miles to the DW Stadium in Wigan; U3A friends will continue to Pennington Flash, Leigh and Tony, wife Dorothy and daughter Ruth will continue to their overnight stop near Sale Water Park and then on to his son’s farm at Glossop, Derbyshire. From there Tony will be on his own as he heads off to the Pennines and Brotherton.
Using a mix of roads and cycle paths Tony will cross Yorkshire reaching the coast at Bridlington. From there he will head north through Scarborough and Whitby up to Newcastle and then across the Hadrian’s Wall coast to coast cycleway to Carlisle, returning South through Penrith, Shap, Lancaster and back to Heskin around May 22. The route is 523 miles with a staggering total climb of 30,748 feet.
“It’s kept me going”
Tony said: “Cycling through the open countryside is the thing that has kept me going throughout my lifetime. Every year for the past 15 years I have gone on a solo trek for a week or more in addition to the special challenges. I have been cycling since I was five when I got my first bike to cycle to school. I hope my efforts inspire others to stay active and support the good cause which is Inspire Youth Zone.”
The Bill Ainscough Foundation will be supporting Tony’s ride by donating to Inspire Youth Zone. Bill and Tony first met when Tony, a civil engineer, worked for Leonard Fairclough building bridges on the M6. Bill, who became an architect, spent six months in the drawing office at Leonard Fairclough. He used to cycle to Tony’s home in Heskin and then travel with him to work each day so got to know him well but over the years their lives took different paths. In 2024 Bill heard about Tony’s Skye challenge and since then has supported his fund raising for Inspire.
Bill said: “Tony is an inspirational man and I am delighted to be able to help him, not just with funding for Inspire Youth Zone, but also behind the scenes. I will be looking out for updates and cheering him along the way.”