Veteran journalist Gordon Brown got on his bike and cycled 150 miles to raise cash for his local football club, Workington, at their last away game of the season with Farsley Celtic.
The trip took him three days, and he slept in hostels in Kendal and Keswick on the way.
Brown, 70, said: ‘I cycle to most of their games, but never that far before. The team gave me a lift back in their coach and my bike was put in the boot with the balls and strips.
‘At one point, I stopped to take a photograph of a memorial in Thirlmere in the Lake District. As I was getting my camera out, a white van came round the corner and clipped my head with its wing mirror. I was stunned for a few minutes, but I had to carry on so I could report on the game.”
Brown has spent the past 17 years freelancing. He now reports on football for Newcastle’s Sunday Sun, and has a cycling column for the Whitehaven News.
His efforts didn’t go unnoticed by friends and fans, who gave generous donations.
Brown said: ‘I held a bucket with my bike when I got to the game and everyone threw money in. I’ve raised £1,000 for the club, which will go towards bringing the Workington grounds up to conference standard.”
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