A FINANCIAL advisor will put aside his calculator for a week to tackle a 1,000km cycle ride from John O’Groats to Leeds.

Robert Cresswell, who has run his own business Gordian Financial Solutions in Otley for 12 years, only started cycling seriously four years ago.

And this challenge will raise money for Mind in Bradford, as well as St Gemma’s Hospice in Leeds, both charities which Robert says have done ‘incredible work to support many people in different ways during the Covid-19 pandemic’.

“There have been some very early morning training starts,” he said.

But having never cycled in Scotland before, he is looking forward to the scenic but gruelling seven-day ride which starts on August 2.

Robert, 50, said: “Riding my bike helps me clear my own head space so it felt a fitting choice to support Mind in Bradford. You have to manage the bike so your brain has this job to do. The scenery, the sunlight, making your body work, they’re all good.”

He will be cycling with friend Stuart Dunbar, of Baildon, who is also Captain of Saltaire Striders running club.

Their 624-mile route from the northernmost tip of Scotland includes more than 48 hours in the saddle, and an elevation of more than 29,000 feet.

Robert praised the generosity and support of his clients as well as his local Business Network International group, Bramhope High Flyers, where businesspeople in the area meet to make contacts and share ideas.

“They’ve been brilliant at supporting me,” he said.

The later part of the route takes the pair to the village of Cresswell, on the Northumbrian coast, where Robert will recreate a photo at the village signpost bearing his family name, last taken when he was a child and visited with his parents.

Wife Kerrie will hold the fort at the business during the fundraising challenge, and Robert also hopes to undertake the other half of the route, from the couple’s home in Bramhope, Leeds, to Land’s End, next year.

Mind in Bradford is a charity which works throughout the Bradford and Craven districts to offer support to anyone struggling with their mental health. Its services include the telephone helpline, Guide-Line, a wellbeing programme of activities and events, and one-to-one mental health recovery workers in GP surgeries. It is affiliated to Mind, but all money raised for Mind in Bradford is spent on services in the district.

To find out more, and sponsor Robert, visit https://www.justgiving.com/team/JOGLeeds-2021/.

St Gemma's Hospice is a local, independent charity, based in Leeds. It has been providing expert care and support for more than 40 years.