BROADCASTER Greg James sobbed as he spoke about his dad’s recent stroke on day two of his 1,000km tandem bike ride for Red Nose Day.
Earlier this month the Radio 1 host, 40, had to cancel his show and rush home after his beloved father Alan Milward suffered a stroke during a planned heart operation.
Greg, who took off from stormy Weymouth in Dorset on Friday will ride solo all the way to Edinburgh by next Friday.
Undertaking the mammoth task to raise money for Red Nose Day just a week after his dad’s stroke, Greg got on emotional talking about the man he calls “Big Al.”
“I feel elated. I feel a bit overwhelmed by all these people who just turned up out of nowhere. I just burst into tears as I was going up to Blaenavon. It was all a bit much,” Greg said on BBC Radio 1 after the second day of his ride.
“Just thought about… I just thought about everything. Just thought about my dad, thought about my mum. It got way too much. It’s so silly. It must have been the altitude.”
Greg continued: “And then someone gave me a Wales flag and I was holding that and I thought about my old nan, and she’s Welsh. And then I just thought about everything and then everything just made me cry, and I just felt really overwhelmed by it all.
“But the day is done, and I actually can’t believe I’ve managed to get to Abergavenny.”
Before heading off on his mammoth mission, Greg opened up to The Sun about his gruelling training regimen.
“I have been training really hard on my bicycle from about Christmas, and every day has been leg day,” he said.
“It’s been a f***ing nightmare. But it’s all for a good cause and totally worth it.
“I have done thousands of miles, either out in the real world or on a bike in the spare room with a laptop propped up watching Heated Rivalry.”
Greg also confirmed he has an upbeat playlist to keep him going.
He said: “The song I just can’t stop listening to is Aperture by Harry Styles. I’ve also got a lot of Chemical Brothers because that’s just nice, upbeat, good dance music.”
Vernon Kay, Sara Cox, Jo Whiley and Scott Mills have been cheering him on, while Jamie Laing and Mollie King have been offering advice following their own challenges.
Greg, who has affectionately named his bike Tando Norris, is still hoping for a message of support from Formula One McLaren driver Lando Norris.
He said: “Zak Brown and the McLaren team, if you’re reading this, please donate generously.”
You heard the man, McLaren!
Greg added: “The reason I’m doing this is because it will raise a lot of money for people that don’t have a safety net.
“I feel very lucky in my life. I have great friends and a really great family to support me if things go wrong.
“Imagine a tough time with no one looking after you. That’s what’s going to spur me on.”
- Donate at comicrelief.com/ride.