Travel Counsellors agent to undertake Three Peaks Challenge by bike

Travel Counsellors agent Chris McKnight will tackle the Three Peaks Challenge this weekend, but in an untraditional way – he will cycle between the climbs, covering more than 400 miles.

 

McKnight, from Derbyshire, is wanting to scale Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon within 48 hours while raising money for Reuben’s Retreat support group Dads’ Club.

 

He has already raised £2,748 for the group, which supports bereaved fathers, but he will continue welcoming donations.

 

“I’ve far surpassed what I was hoping for,” he said, adding that the donations so far were already enough to cover the club’s costs for two and a half years.

 

“The awareness-raising is more important now than the money. If there’s anyone who needs the service and they hear about it through this, that would be amazing.”

 

McKnight joined Travel Counsellors in August last year from his role as sales director at an estate agency.

 

An experienced cyclist, he specialises in organising cycling holidays. He was arranging a trip for clients to complete the Three Peaks Challenge by bike when he decided to embark on his own fundraiser.

 

He is hoping to complete the cycling elements within 32 hours, which would allow four hours to climb each of the peaks.

 

He will start with the 1,345-metre Ben Nevis on Friday morning, his 33rd birthday, before climbing the 978-metre Scafell Pike on Saturday morning and finishing with the 1,085-metre Snowdon in the early hours of Sunday.

 

The decision to support the Dads’ Club came after visiting the service and speaking to some of the service users.

 

“Men’s mental health groups are becoming more common, but they’re not the same as those for bereaved fathers,” he said, adding that the latter remain rare.

 

The cost of running each monthly Dads’ Club session is £90, he said, with the original fundraising target being to cover the cost for a year.

 

Although he has not set a fresh goal, he said he would be “blown away” if the donations reach £4,800 – a nod to the duration of the challenge.

 

He said it was noteworthy that he would be starting his mission on May 23, because the number 23 has significance for Reuben’s Retreat.

 

“The number is very important for Reuben’s,” he said. “There are a lot of things that come up over and over again for them with the number 23.”

 

He added that the record for completing the same itinerary he will be tackling is 32 hours, 10 minutes.

 

A JustGiving page has been created to collect donations.