Four octogenarians taking on Wrekin challenge for Compton Care
Four cyclists who have a total age of 330 years between them are gearing up to take on a charity bike ride in aid of a local hospice.
Hugh Porter, Mickey Tranter, Mick Hesson, and Pete Craven will all be completing the Round the Wrekin challenge to raise money for the Wolverhampton charity, Compton Care.
The four men are all over 80 but stress that age should not be a deterrent to embarking on new challenges, particularly when the goal is to raise money for charity.
Former BBC commentator and four-times world individual pursuit champion Hugh Porter is a patron of Compton Care and has been involved with the event, which was the brainchild of Compton Care donor management officer Lisa Bockhoefer, since its inception in 2016.
Mr Porter said: "What does age matter when it comes to raising money for such a deserving charity? Anyone can achieve these things if they set their mind to it.
"Compton Care is very important because it is a charity that looks after people with terminal illnesses.
"Most families are touched by cancer or other serious illnesses at some point, and this is a facility which offers great help and care.
"Causes like this deserve everything they can get, which is why I'm so driven towards it."
Hugh will be joined on May 22 by 81-year-old Mickey, 81-year-old Mick, and 86-year-old Pete, who will all complete the 25-mile route, aptly named the Hugh Porter Challenge.
The group have known each other for a long time, with Hugh knowing Mick since he was child and Mickey since he was a teenager.
All of them are athletic; Micky and Pete have run marathons - with personal best times of two hours and 45 minutes and two hours and 50 minutes respectively, while Mickey is a former Midland Road Race champion and has completed the Tour of Britain three times.
Named after the cycling icon, the 25-mile challenge they will embark on starts at 10am on May 22 and costs £25 to enter.
The route follows quiet lanes in Worfield and Calverley before moving into Pattingham.
After a moderate 1,000ft climb, participants cross the finish line at DK Rugby Club.
There are also two longer routes that people can choose to complete: the 64-mile Compton Classic and the 100-mile Carver's Epic, which runs through deep Shropshire, including a climb up the Long Mynd.
This will be the first time since 2019 that the event has been able to run at its normal capacity due to the impact of the pandemic.
With 33 days to go, Hugh stresses that there is still time to sign up.
He added: "There's still time to sign up through the Compton Care website. We're hoping for a huge entry and that the good weather over Easter has encouraged people to get their bikes out and consider entering.
"It's not a race, people don't have to belt around. We're hoping families will sign up because they'll enjoy it.
"Me and my wife will be handing out medals which is one of the joys of the day because the people you meet after and the stories they share are amazing."
For more information about the event, visit comptoncare.org.uk/roundthewrekin
