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DJ Nick Grimshaw completes 12 hours in saddle to raise £115k for Sport Relief

Breakfast Show presenter spent 12 hours cycling in Perspex box with help from celebs including Victoria Pendleton

Radio 1's Nick Grimshaw yesterday evening completed a 12-hour cycling session for Sport Relief, with other celebrities including Victoria Pendleton joining him to rack up more than 1,000 miles and raising more than £115,000 for the charity.

The DJ – known as ‘Grimmy’ to his fans – undertook the challenge on a turbo trainer in a Perspex box in the plaza outside the BBC’s Broadcasting House in Central London.

While there, he even presented his Breakfast Show, continuing to pedal as he did so.

He was joined by celebrities including TV presenter Davina McCall, rapper Professor Green and Olympic Keirin champion Victoria Pendleton, each of whom did a stint in the saddle to help reach a total of 1,205 miles during the 12-hour challenge.

BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat has video and pictures of the challenge.

Grimshaw, who had started his ride at 7am, finished it during Greg James' Drive Time Show, and told his fellow DJ: “I'm never going on a bike, ever again. I'm going to burn my bike."

By that time, he had raised £115,500.

Later, he said: “Thank you to everyone who’s been texting in, it’s a big deal, it’s a lot of money, and it will change lives.

“Last night, I was really anxious. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, I was really stressing out about it. I think the first two hours were the worst just because I didn’t think I could do it. The fourth hour was horrible, I felt really sick. I had to go have a word with myself in the mirror.

“Thanks to Sport Relief for letting me go out to Kenya and see how this money really does change lives. I’ve said it before but sometimes when you give money to charity you think, ‘Where’s that going?’ But I got to see it first-hand. I don’t think I could have done this without seeing the work that the money does.”

The challenge forms part of BBC Radio Around the World for Sport Relief – with the whole of BBC Radio, national and local, aiming to run, swim and cycle 25,000 miles – equivalent to the circumference of the world.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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13 comments

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Nick T | 10 years ago
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As much as it pains me to defend the useless vacuum that is Chris Moyles, I do have a vague recollection of him climbing Kilimanjaro a few years ago for the same cause.

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Nick T | 10 years ago
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12 hours on rollers, now that's something I'd watch.

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OldRidgeback replied to Nick T | 10 years ago
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Nick T wrote:

12 hours on rollers, now that's something I'd watch.

Good to watch on the radio perhaps?

But a thumbs up to Nick Grimshaw. I think Chris Moyles would've struggled even to sit on a turbo trainer.

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andyp | 10 years ago
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'Turbo miles mean feck all. Wind down the resistance to minimum, up the gear and hey presto, 25mph without breaking a sweat.'

Turbo miles mean feck all...without additional information. 25 miles in an hour at FTP makes a lot of sweat.

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John240364 | 10 years ago
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12 hours on a trainer is good, but 1205miles......in 12 hours is amazing, that is over 100 miles an hour, he may be a crap dj but he is a brilliant cyclist......or am I not getting it right...

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giff77 replied to John240364 | 10 years ago
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John240364 wrote:

12 hours on a trainer is good, but 1205miles......in 12 hours is amazing, that is over 100 miles an hour, he may be a crap dj but he is a brilliant cyclist......or am I not getting it right...

Ha ha. Good one. Thinking it was his and various guests combined. I reckon young Victoria upped the mileage though on her wee stint.

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bobbinogs replied to giff77 | 10 years ago
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giff77 wrote:
John240364 wrote:

12 hours on a trainer is good, but 1205miles......in 12 hours is amazing, that is over 100 miles an hour, he may be a crap dj but he is a brilliant cyclist......or am I not getting it right...

Ha ha. Good one. Thinking it was his and various guests combined. I reckon young Victoria upped the mileage though on her wee stint.

Turbo miles mean feck all. Wind down the resistance to minimum, up the gear and hey presto, 25mph without breaking a sweat. I have heard some folks quote their avg speed based on turbo use, no surprises out on the road.

12 hours on a turbo though, yeegads. Makes me wince just thinking about it. Goes to show that some of the toughest challenges aren't the obvious ones.

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gb901 | 10 years ago
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Oh these celebs!

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mooleur | 10 years ago
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His arse must've killed! Fair play like.

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farrell | 10 years ago
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Imagine being stuck for 12 hours in a box with Nick Grimshaw, I'd rip the chain off the bike and hang myself.

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parksey replied to farrell | 10 years ago
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farrell wrote:

Imagine being stuck for 12 hours in a box with Nick Grimshaw, I'd rip the chain off the bike and hang myself.

 21

Fair play to him for the achievement though.

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notfastenough | 10 years ago
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Good grief, 12 hours in there would do me in.

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ragtimecyclist | 10 years ago
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12 hours on a turbo is quite an achievement...it's a wonder he didn't keel over and expire from boredom!!

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