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BBC's Matt Baker hits Peterborough in Children In Need Rickshaw ChallengeMatt Baker Rickshaw Challenge for BBC Children In Need

BBC's Matt Baker hits Peterborough in Children In Need Rickshaw Challenge

Just two stages left and they're pretty short and flat for presenter who has raised more than £650,000 to date...
by Simon_MacMichael
Wed, Nov 16, 2011 22:42
10

BBC TV presenter Matt Baker arrived in Peterborough at around 10.30pm this evening, leaving him with two more days in the saddle in his Children In Need Rickshaw Challenge from London to Edinburgh. So far, the former Blue Peter host, who now works on The One Show, has raised nearly two thirds of a million pounds for the charity ahead of its annual appeal this Friday.

Matt’s arrival at BBC Television Centre is timed to coincide with The One Show’s live coverage of Friday’s Children In Need Appeal on Friday evening, and he’ll be relieved to have put three consecutive 70-mile days behind him, with tomorrow, at 41 miles, being the shortest day of the challenge.

That ride will take him from Peterborough across the Fens to Cambridge, and as long as the wind doesn’t get up too much the flat terrain should also provide some welcome relief for Matt following what has turned out to be a pretty tough week.

The lowest point was perhaps reached yesterday on the 78-mile stage from York to Lincoln, when the presenter, who had already battled with saddle sores in the course of his 484-mile journey, also succumbed to knee pain. As a result, it took him 16 hours to cover what in terms of mileage is the longest leg of his eight-day ride.

With a total of 90.3 miles left and two days over mostly flat ground in which to cover him, hopefully Matt, who has been carrying a range of passengers throughout the ride – today, he had that Warwick Davis in the back of the  pedicab – now has the worst behind him.

Yesterday, meanwhile, Russ Downing teamed up with Matt to ride alongside him in full Team Sky kit – possibly the last time he’ll be seen in it in the media, given the announcement of his signing for Endura Racing the same day.

You can follow his progress online via the BBC Children in Need website, which also has daily video diaries and pictures, and on Twitter at @BBCCiN, @bakermattbaker and by searching the hashtag #CiNrickshaw.

Donations of £5 can be made by texting "MATT" to 70705, with texts costing £5 plus one standard rate message, with £5 going to BBC Children in Need.

The One Show
Rickshaw
Matt Baker
Children In Need
BBC Children In Need
Simon MacMichael

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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10 comments

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OldnSlo | 13 years ago
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definitely worth a fiver of anybody's cash.
a bargain.

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Simon_MacMichael replied to OldnSlo | 13 years ago
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OldnSlo wrote:

definitely worth a fiver of anybody's cash.
a bargain.

Agree, I want to be writing a seven-figure sum when we come to cover the end of the ride tomorrow 1

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cat1commuter | 13 years ago
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Tough job pedalling a heavy, very un-aerodynamic bike against the prevailing wind!

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Coleman | 13 years ago
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Will he arrive in the studios with four tourists squashed in the back wondering how it cost £10 to go round the corner?

(London-centric posts only from me, obviously)

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John G | 13 years ago
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"today, he had that Warwick Davis in the back of the pedicab – now has the worst behind him" - well phrased, I don't like Warwick Davis either.

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Dr_Lex | 13 years ago
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Looks like Matt is in Rapha; smart!

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arrieredupeleton | 13 years ago
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'...with tomorrow, at 41 days, being the shortest day of the challenge'. He might miss the finish in London tomorrow then.

Fair play to him for utilising his housewives favourite persona for the benefit of charitable causes. Gkam's comments may be relevant but apply to many of the bigger charities. If you prefer the gratification of knowing that your donation is being used where you can see it, stick to those which are geographically or issue specific to you. I doubt many African kids benefit from donations on their doorstep though.

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Simon_MacMichael replied to arrieredupeleton | 13 years ago
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arrieredupeleton wrote:

'...with tomorrow, at 41 days, being the shortest day of the challenge'. He might miss the finish in London tomorrow then.

Yeah he'd be a bit saddle sore after that alright. Cheers for the spot.

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Tony Farrelly | 13 years ago
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Well, people may be tightening their belts GKam but Britain is still a very wealthy country and the British are a generous bunch a lot of people giving a little bit of money adds up to a lot of money pretty quickly + I think that it's a recognised phenomenon that giving to these sorts of things often goes up in hard times. Doesn't bother me where they spend the money as long as they spend it wisely.

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Gkam84 | 13 years ago
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I know ever penny helps and all this............but in times when everyone is watching the pennies and are lucky if they can watch the pounds, where on earth is all this money coming from?

Any bets Children in need go on to raise another record breaking total AGAIN this year, even with the whole country being aware that its getting tight cash wise and will probably get worse before better

I'll stick to raising money for charities like Kidney Research UK, at least its help my family out with an inherent disease, the money is ALL spent here in the UK and you can see results, unlike CiN where you get the sob story films, but not much end product 39

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