Childline ‘spokes’ man, Johnny Appleton

A CHILDLINE volunteer who kicked off his mammoth 1,500-mile cycling fundraiser this week has been cycling more than 100km a day.

Johnny Appleton started his tour on Monday after catching the train up to Aberdeen in Scotland. He has cycled the equivalent of a Tour de France stage – without stopping for hot food – for the past three days.

Before he set off from his Canonbury home, which he shares with his 19-year-old son, Mr Appleton, 41, was bedbound with flu.

“It wasn’t the ideal start,” the life model and massage therapist admitted, but said the days since have been a wild ride of highs and lows.

“It’s been much more challenging than I imagined,” he added. “I feel my emotions are on the surface but I’m surprised my body is holding up so far. Messages of encouragement have kept me going.”

Mr Appleton, who had volunteered for the children’s charity for more than a decade before launching a fundraiser, plans to cycle to all 12 Childline bases across the country, including a boat trip to Northern Ireland, before returning to Islington in roughly a month, if everything goes to plan.

He is mixing up his stays at Travelodges and with friends but says finding places to eat have been “the tough part,” although he described being given a large slice of carrot cake on day two as “immense”.

He and his fixed-wheel, one-gear bike, called Bikey McBikeface, cycled 118km on Tuesday and 138km on Wednesday and will be in Scotland until the end of the week, when he plans to catch a ferry to Belfast and Foyle before working through the Welsh and English bases.

At the end of his ride he will finish with the London marathon. So far he has raised just under £5,000 but wants to make at least £12,000 by the finish line.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “We are so grateful to Johnny for undertaking this extraordinary journey in aid of Childline. It costs around £1,600 to recruit, train, and support a Childline volunteer, and this fundraising effort will allow us to do this several times over. We wish Johnny the best of luck with the journey!”

To support his efforts, visit www.justgiving.com/page/tourdechildine

To follow his journey, go to https://z6z.co/tourdechildline/