Hadfield couple's wedding anniversary fundraiser in Dubai

A Hadfield couple have celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary by cycling 50,000km in the searing heat of Dubai.

Jarrod Ashton is well known for raising money for The Christie in memory of his brother Rick.

This time, his wife Sue also cycled the distance with him.

Jarrod told us: "We took a trip to Dubai to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary which is actually later this year. I did some research about the area we were staying and discovered there was a cycle track which is about a 50 minute drive to into the desert.

"We both decided we’d do the 50 kilometre circuit. We aimed to ride between 2pm and 5pm but what we didn’t realise is that is the hottest part of the day in Dubai. We thought it would be cooler after noon but it was 42 degrees Celsius and was like cycling into a hot hair dryer!" 

Jarrod and Sue cycling

It took the couple three hours to ride the circuit, raising another £1,240 for Ride for Rick.

Jarrod added: "We hired our bikes from a bike shop. I don’t want to do it again but overall it was an amazing experience. We also didn’t bargain for the fact that rush hour in Dubai is from 5pm until 9pm so we had to wait a while to get a taxi back to our resort. People are amazing with their generosity and we thank everyone for their donations." 

Ride 4 Rick began eight years ago when Jarrod promised his dying brother that he’d take part in the Christie bike ride from Manchester to Blackpool.

Every year since then, Jarrod has taken part in the challenge along with several others. So far, he has raised £28,000 and by the end of this year he hopes to break the £30,000 mark.

You can donate by going to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ride4rick2022 

Listen to Jarrod speaking to our reporter Gill Garston below...