Jersey priest to take on almighty cycle challenge

Saturday 13 July 2024

A Jersey priest is preparing to swap the Bible for his bike and cycle 1,000 miles from Lands End to John O'Groats in aid of his church's restoration project.

In just under a month, Father Nick Barry of St Luke's church in St Saviour will set off from Cornwall on a gruelling 14-day, 1,000-mile cycle up the country to John o'Groats in Scotland.

Telling Express why he was taking on such a monster of a challenge, the likes of which he has never attempted before, he said: "I thought I'd do my bike ride for a bit of fun and to attract some interest for the project."

Having been a cyclist for quite a while, but never to this scale, he said: "It's one of those iconic rides that mad cyclists do so I thought I might give it a try."

Pictured: Father Nick is swapping the Bible for his bike to ride 1,000 miles across the UK.

Expecting to be cycling for six to seven hours a day, resting in B&Bs each night, Father Nick said the challenge is not for the faint-hearted.

"The climbing that you have to do [on the bike] is twice the height of Everest, so you can't just jump on your bike and hope for the best."

Having been training in Jersey for the last three months, he will be facing the challenge with his son Andrew as part of a larger group on the same route.

"I've been training very hard just riding a lot of miles. There's no substitute for that."

The epic challenge is in aid of great causes. Firstly, St Luke's Restoration Project, which plans to majorly update the 173-year-old building.

"We've got a lot planned," Father Nick said of the estimated £1 million project.

Pictured: The 173-year-old church requires a fair amount of TLC.

"We'll be getting towards carbon neutrality with the replacement of our old oil heating system for an electric one.

"We'll be installing a new sound and vision system, replacing lighting and re-plastering and pointing because we've got quite a few areas with damp."

Father Nick also said that plans included renovating the church hall adjacent to St Luke's so that it can be made into more of a community hub for the area.

It is hoped that the restoration will be completed by the church's 175th anniversary in 2027, so Father Nick's bike ride is hoped to kickstart the much-needed funds.

"We've got quite a lot of work to do," he said, "so this challenge might help us raise a few more pounds."

Pictured: The estimated cost of the project is in the region of £1 million.

As well as fundraising for his church, Father Nick said that his challenge is also going to be raising money for international charity War Child.

Having been in the military, Father Nick said that he had experienced what impact war has on children and wanted to support War Child's work.

"I've seen the effects of war on children with my own eyes so it is a charity that I'm very keen to support".

Splitting the money evenly between the UK branch of War Child and St Luke's Church, he hopes to raise as much as possible.

"So far we've raised over £2,000 already which I'm very pleased about.

"I've got a few more things to organise in the next few weeks in order to get myself ready."

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Father Nick and Andrew will set off on 11 August from Lands End.

You can donate to his challenge HERE.