February 22nd 2016 was the 10th anniversary of Nathan’s death and his family and friends wanted to do something challenging to mark the occasion in Nathan’s memory and so they became Nathan’s PPCC Wheelers and it was agreed that they do a cycle ride from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Newcastle-under-Lyme.

27 of them (age range from 18 – 55) set off from Porthill Park Cricket on the evening of Monday 4th April 2016 to make their journey up to Newcastle upon Tyne, ready to start their epic challenge the following morning. They set off from the Tyne Bridge and over the next 4 and a half days their journey took them from Newcastle to Barnard Castle on Tuesday, from Barnard Castle to Skipton on Wednesday, from Skipton to Holmfirth on Thursday, from Holmfirth to Macclesfied on Friday and finally from Macclesfield back to Porthill Cricket Club on Saturday morning. They covered a total of 232 gruelling miles most of it over very tough terrain on dirt tracks, cycle tracks, over the top of Saddleworth Moor and in and out of picturesque villages, while they encountered the worst weather possible as they had snow, rain, hail, thunder and lightening and gales!

They all described it as excruciating and exhausting whilst being one of the worst and certainly one of the best experiences they’d ever had and they all thoroughly “enjoyed” it in a sadistic sort of way!! The sum total of donations in honour of their efforts was £9000 which is absolutely fantastic and Nathan will be very proud of every one of them. They’re already planning another cycle ride, hopefully one that’s a bit kinder next time.

Angela Butler