Greg James ‘overwhelmed’ to complete 1,000km Comic Relief ride raising millions

BBC Radio 1 breakfast host Greg James has said he felt “overwhelmed” after completing his 1,000km cycling challenge to raise money for Comic Relief.

Crowds of people gathered in Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Friday morning to watch James, 40, cross the finish line, eight days after he set out from Weymouth on a two-seater tandem bicycle.

He was piped into the stadium on Red Nose Day by the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Pipes & Drum band, and was cheered over the final few metres by a crowd who had come to watch the moment.

After dismounting from his bike, the DJ turned to the crowd and punched the air, before becoming visibly emotional as he hugged and spoke to BBC colleagues.

Shortly after, it was confirmed his ride has so far raised more than £4 million for Comic Relief.

Speaking with the Press Association after crossing the finish line, James said it was “difficult” to put his feelings into words.

“I feel very overwhelmed,” he said.

“I feel extremely proud that the challenge connected with so many people, that this daft idea we cooked up months ago worked as an adventure, and got people hooked and got them to think about their communities and who their support network might be.”

“And as a reminder to look at the world and realise that there are people that don’t quite have that support network, and then donate money.

“Four million pounds, I can barely bring myself to say it, it feels so strange.”

Greg James was raising money for Red Nose Day (Ben Whitely/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Ben Whitley

He said anything in the realm of a few £100,000, half a million or a million was “a mighty sum”, but that £4 million felt “crazy”.

He went on: “It was a very joyful eight days apart from the pain. I will look back on it with great pride, but it felt so happy cycling through all those places.

“Everyone was so warm and so generous, and I guess at the end of it all, I want people to treat everyone like they just treated a minor celebrity on his tandem for the last eight days, because that warmth and that love was really quite special.

“But I’ve got too much of it now. I’m full up, so give it to somebody else.”

James credited everyone who had supported him during the ride, which he said kept him going as he made his way through England, Wales and Scotland, where he finished on Red Nose Day.

He said it felt like every time he climbed a hill there was a primary school on top, with “a great bunch of teachers and students with pots and pans and signs and red noses and flapjacks that they’d made”.

“I’ll always remember that. I think everyone was smiling at me. It was just eight days of people just going ‘go on’ and smiling. It was such great encouragement and it’s great spirit.”

He also paid tribute to the cycling ability of the Prince of Wales, who joined him on his tandem for a 40-minute spell in Yorkshire.

Radio 1 presenter Greg James with the Prince of Wales on his tandem (James Watkins/BBC)PA Media - James Watkins/BBC

“Very powerful legs, the royal glutes were firing on all cylinders,” he quipped.

“They really were. He was a beast on there. I think he’s a keen cyclist anyway, and he refused to wear lycra. I mean, he’s a smart man.

“I can’t believe that happened. He really didn’t need to do that. This is the thing I keep thinking about.

“But what I love about that is that he got the message we were trying to put out, talking about safety nets and making sure that there are people to catch you if you fall.

“Luckily I didn’t fall off the bike with him. Otherwise I’d have been sent to the Tower.

“But I’m really pleased that he chose to amplify that message, really. And it sent the whole thing supersonic.”

James said he is now looking forward to wearing something other than lycra and that he now wants to “sit quietly for a few days”.

“I gave it everything and I really did not leave anything in reserve,” he said.

“I tried my very, very best, so that total, that challenge, whatever happens next, that was my best.

“I know that I got to my best and now I need to rest.”

For more information about Radio 1’s Longest Ride, and to donate go to: comicrelief.com/rednoseday/challenges/greg/