Rev Barry’s Tour de force
A Stirling minister is to cycle the equivalent of half the distance of the Tour de France in a bid to raise funds for charity.
Reverend Barry Hughes is the minister at St Mark’s, Raploch, and he had been gearing up to tackle the Stirling Marathon in aid of Home Start Stirling.
However, the race organisers, Classic Run Events, were this week forced to postpone the race as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
Barry will now climb on to his static bike and cycle exactly half the length of the world’s best known bike race.
The Tour de France rolls through French streets every June and July. However, even its organisers have been forced to postpone it until August.
Rev Barry will honour his commitment to raise the cash for the charity by cycling 1,735km – 1078 miles – from his garage at his home in the church manse.
The challenge, which he has self-titled the‘Tour de Manse’throughout May.
He said:“I was due to run Stirling Marathon for Home Start – and of course maybe still will – but given the uncertainty around sporting events I thought I would do this instead.
“Home Start are based in Raploch and use St Mark’s Church regularly and are a great organisation supporting vulnerable families across Stirling.”
He has set himself a target of raising £500 and at the time of print had already raised £365 of that.
To donate to Barry’s effort, go to https:// uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiserdisplay/showROFundraiserPage?page Id=1170377