Chorley cyclist celebrates 90th birthday with charity bike ride

An ‘inspirational’ great-grandfather is celebrating his 90th birthday with a 450-mile bike ride for a charity that helps young people in his home town.

Tony Newton rides from Chorley, Lancashire, to the west coast of Scotland, taking in the Isle of Skye before finishing at Kyle of Lochalsh.

He started his ‘Skye Or Bust’ trek on Monday to raise money for Inspire Youth Zone, Chorley, and hopes to finish on June 28.

The granddaughter of multi-year-old Hannah Wotherspoon, who joined him for part of his ride along with other members of the family, said he proves that “age really is not a barrier to staying fit”.

Mr Newton, who has already surpassed his fundraising target of £7,500, has been a keen cyclist since he rode to school at the age of five.

He said he had been doing solo trips of hundreds of miles a year for the past 15 years, including a 350-mile ride to Inverness in 2023.

“I never stopped doing anything physical,” he said. “You can do a lot of things you wouldn’t think you could do, regardless of age.”

Mrs Wotherspoon said: “He’s just so inspiring to me and I think it’s great to let people know that you can still do these things at 90.

“There is no age limit; you can still cycle and be very healthy.”

Inspire Youth Zone, Chorley is a purpose-built “safe, welcoming and warm” space for young people providing activities and support.

The charity said fundraisers such as Mr Newton’s trek are vital to the charity following a major increase in demand for its services.

“Our operating costs are £1.6 million per year,” it says. “We couldn’t operate without people like Tony doing something as great as this.”

Mr Newton said he has no plans to slow down as he completes his latest cycling challenge and is determined to “just keep going”.