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Press duo's punishing pedal passage through principality

Swirling winds and punishing undulating roads could not prevent a local press duo from completing a 104-mile bike ride through Wales for charity.

Richard Jones and Phil Blagg, chief reporter and chief photographer respectively at the Welshpool-based County Times, tackled the two-day trip in aid of the neonatal unit at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

They were joined by nine other intrepid cyclists, including organiser Darren Hyland whose baby boy died to a neonatal death at the hospital aged just 31 hours in April.

The initial fundraising target of £1,000 has already been doubled, with the money going towards purchasing new equipment for the hospital which will cool the body and brain temperature of babies born with a brain injury.

‘Team Hyland’, as they were known, left the picturesque island of Anglesey off the coast of North Wales and headed to the Menai Bridge to cross back to the mainland.

From here they headed to Snowdonia where the mountainous roads failed to break their resolve, eventually ending the first day in the north-west Wales town of Dolgellau, having completed 65 miles.

On day two the crew suffered some more climbs, including one that had previously taken one of the team four minutes to complete in a car, before reaching Welshpool in mid-afternoon.

Richard told HTFP: “Having not saddled myself on a bike since the day I passed my driving test, I found the bike ride to be a true test of my endurance.

“The first day was particularly testing, the mountain roads were steep and the wind was howling into our faces, but at the same time it was really enjoyable as the views through Snowdonia were amazing.

“The reasons behind us all agreeing to take on this gruelling challenge are very sad but I have huge respect for Darren and his wife, Karen, for managing to find a positive in it all and organise this bike ride to raise both funds and awareness.

“To date they have already collected more the £2,000 but with more money still to come in it is hoped we could soon be pushing close to £3,000. That would be fantastic.”

  • Anyone wishing to sponsor the group can email Richard directly on: [email protected].
  • Richard (in black) and Phil tackle the mountain road from Dolgellau to Dinas Mawyddy
    Pic: fellrunningpictures.co.uk