MONK Bretton councillor Steve Green is set to embark on a 160-mile bike ride to Newcastle next week to raise money for the two mayoral charities.
Steve, now 67, holds Newcastle dear to his heart and has supported them - alongside his beloved Barnsley FC - since a youngster.
He’s been a season ticket holder at both clubs and had travelled up north in every way imaginable - apart from by a bike - until four years ago.
To change that he cycled up to Newcastle in nine hours and he’s set to do the same on Wednesday.
Steve told the Chronicle: “I’ve travelled up on my motorbike, on buses, trains and I once was chauffeured up in a Rolls-Royce.
“Four years ago I decided the only thing I hadn’t gone up on was a push bike so I did that all in one day.
“This time I’m stopping at Darlington which is 86 miles away from here and then I’m going on to Newcastle which is another 42 miles.
“I’ll then be going back down just before Darlington so it’s about 160 miles in total.
“It’s a beautiful city just like Barnsley.
“We’ve got about £400 at the moment and hopefully it’ll be some more because the two charities are great.”
He’s raising money for the two mayoral charities - Help 4 Homeless Veterans and Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SoBS) - and a fundraiser can be found on the Chronicle website.
Mayor of Barnsley, Coun Dave Leech, will start the journey alongside Steve with his grandson, Jack.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he added.
“I’ve said to Dave and Jack that I’ll meet them and if they want to come as far as Pontefract that’ll be great.
“It’s a straightforward run, really.”
