Ribble Valley duo cycle John O'Groats to Land's End for Rosemere

A retirement pact made by two friends has allowed them to JOGLE their way to raising almost £3,000 for Rosemere Cancer Foundation.
Barry Nutter, John Etough and Brian O'Neill at Land's EndBarry Nutter, John Etough and Brian O'Neill at Land's End
Barry Nutter, John Etough and Brian O'Neill at Land's End

A retirement pact made by two friends has allowed them to JOGLE their way to raising almost £3,000 for Rosemere Cancer Foundation.

Brian O’Neill, 61, of Dutton, near Ribchester, and dentist Barry Nutter, 64, spent a month in the saddle as they cycled from John O’Groats to Land’s End (JOGLE).

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In total, they pedaled 1,054 miles to help Rosemere Cancer Foundation as a thank you for treatment and care Barry received at the centre in 2016 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Brian, who has two children and four grandchildren, said: “Barry and I have been friends for more than 30 years and wanted to do something memorable to mark our retirements. Barry plans to retire from the BUPA Beech Drive Dental Practice in Fulwood, at Christmas, and I sold the Blackburn nursing and residential home I ran with my wife Eileen to retire last year.

“I mentioned cycling from one end of the country to the other and it became a plan. The thing that will stick with us most is the kindness of those we met along the way at the various B&Bs, pubs etc that we stopped off at, who would ask us about our challenge and invariably make a donation.

“We each only had one fall off our bikes and took just two or three wrong turns, which only cost us an extra 12 miles. We faced sunshine and storms. In Scotland, we knew a storm was due to hit the following day so we decided to cycle a further 15 miles to reduce our mileage next day.

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“The following day, we sat out the worst of the storm but still had 26 miles to do however, the train we were supposed to catch back to our bikes wasn’t able to get through because of a tree on the line so we ended up hitching a ride on a school bus. This enabled us to ride in the storm to our next digs in Loch Lomond.

“It was certainly an unforgettable experience but a very worthwhile one for the money we have been able to raise for Rosemere Cancer Foundation. Our original target was £1,000 so to have almost trebled this amount is quite overwhelming and we would like to thank everyone who has supported us.”

Brian and Barry only took two days off during their month-long challenge and they were supported by their friend, John Eatough, who was their driver.

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