A MAN who spent many happy childhood summer holidays in Rhyl is taking on a static cycle to support a number of UK charities including Rhyl Foodbank.

Gregg Hunt, founder and chief executive of mediation provider Hunt ADR, has completed 833.18km of a 2,092.4km ride, having so far rode the equivalent of Billericay to Hull, Hull to Edinburgh, Edinburgh to Skelmersdale, and Skelmersdale to Rhyl.

Having spent a cumulative time of 36 hours and 15 minutes cycling so far, Gregg will next be cycling the equivalent of Rhyl to Belfast.

Gregg said: “I’ve got an exercise bike at home and just started using one in the office as well. I’ve measured it all out and done a route and have updated on my website where I am. I have just left Rhyl, in effect!

“It has been a bit of a trek - I was doing really well, and then I had my COVID jabs and got really tired, so I went through a time when I hardly did anything at all, but I’ve had a second lease of life now.

“I would hope by the end of January I will be done, maybe even before then.”

Rhyl Journal: Gregg's 'Cycle for Foodbanks' routeGregg's 'Cycle for Foodbanks' route

Rather than raising money for his nominated causes, Gregg hopes his efforts will raise awareness of the foodbanks, which in turn will lead to new people donating money and goods to them.

As well as Rhyl, Gregg is helping foodbanks in Billericay, Hull, Edinburgh, Skelmersdale, Rhyl, North Belfast, Cork, Bude Foodbank, Romford and Basildon; all of which he or Hunt ADR has an affiliation with.

Gregg’s connection with Rhyl dates back to his childhood, adding: “I’m from Skelmersdale and a lot of summer holidays were spent in Rhyl.

“My grandad had a caravan there, and I even took my kids there a few years ago; for me, it has an important place in my childhood. I had some great times there.

“I lost my dad at an early age and he was on those holidays with me, so it is a pretty special place, and I know it has had a pretty tough time lately.

“I have been doing some collections for food banks when I was travelling just before COVID-19. So whatever I happened to be doing, I was contacting law firms and doing collections and when COVID came, that all stopped, so I tried raising money on a GoFundMe page.

“I am raising awareness of these food banks with the hope that people will then donate, because you can’t put a value on that, even if they just put some tins into a Tesco collection point, and then encourage people to send me a photo of them when they visit a food bank.”

Since 2018, Hunt ADR has also raised thousands of pounds in donations for foodbanks across the UK, contributing food, bathroom and sanitary items, nappies and other non-perishable goods.

For updates on Gregg’s ‘Cycle for Foodbanks’ effort, visit: www.huntadr.com/cycleforfoodbanks.