TWO ‘BEARDED Barrovians’ have taken on the mammoth North Coast 500 (NC500) in member of one of their father's - who died following a battle with cancer.

Matt Atkinson and Tom Quinn got themselves in the saddle as part of a bid to remember Matt's father, Graham Atkinson, who sadly passed away in the August of 2017 at the age of 75, after battling cancer.

As part of their challenge, the pair were raising money for St Mary's Hospice, who provided end of life care to Mr Atkinson, and support for the family.

The duo have completed the challenge through Scotland, but endurance tests are nothing new to them.

Back in 2018 conquered both the Three Peaks Challenge and the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge in the space of just six days.

Still showing the love for the outdoors that his father had instilled in him, Matt and his good friend Tom have continued to tackle the outdoors in his memory.

They began the journey with the Scottish coast to coast ride on day one, and ended on day five by crossing over one of Great Britain’s highest mountain passes, 480 miles into the ride.

Despite facing a wet start to the challenge, they were able to finish the first 100 miles of the journey in the space of just eight hours.

Matt said: “The stunning Scottish vistas made it difficult to ride without taking photographs every few metres.

“The remoteness and beauty of the route is part of its appeal to the many people that drive it.

“We were forced to wild camp for the last two nights due to Covid restriction - the ride was starting to take its toll on both our bodies and the bikes too.”

The pair said that they had ‘limped’ over the finish line after totalling 60 hours of riding and 11000 metres of ascent.

So far they have raised £2,000 but hope to raise more.

Matt said: “We realised the impact that Covid was having on many peoples lives, and charities have really suffered as a result too.

"We were blown away by the support and generosity of people helping us reach our initial goal of £1000. We’re upping the stakes and hope to raise £2000 before the page closes in 3 weeks time.” To donate to the Bearded Barrovians fundraising page go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bb-nc500