Mid Sussex businessmen train for 300-mile London to Paris bike ride to raise £5,000 for Parkinson's UK

Grant Kirby, 40, and Jez Viel, 47, from GKirby Collection in Warninglid, aim to raise £5,000 for Parkinson’s UK.

Grant Kirby, who is the founder of the business, which he runs with Jez, said: “I hope we can break through that amount.”

He said their GoFundMe page is now at more than £1,400 and that, in total, they have raised more than £2,000 already.

Grant, who lives in Worthing, said training has already started. He said: “Both me and Jez live about 25 miles from work so we’re trying to cycle to or from work three times a week at the moment.”

They have also been putting in time at the gym and doing much longer rides at the weekend.

The bike ride starts on September 13 and will take four days.

Grant said Parkinson’s UK is a charity that is close to his heart, as he lost his grandmother to the condition.

“It’s a horrifically cruel disease,” he said, adding that the more money Parkinson’s UK gets the more research it can do into treatments and care.

Grant said he wanted to take on an ‘extreme’ fundraising challenge. He said: “I love a challenge. In life you’ve got to have something that you’re working for. For me it’s the pride in completing it and raising for a good cause.”

But he said: “Finding time is hard and obviously if I was doing this thing 15 years ago it would be a lot easier to just jump on a bike and do 20 to 30 miles without training. As you get older the body needs more time to recover.”

He added: “You’ve just got to find the time to get the hours in and get the body conditioned again.”

Grant said that his cycling group, Team GKirby, will be greeted by their wives at the finish line if all goes according to plan.

When asked about the reaction of his family and friends, Grant said: “They know I hate cardio.” Some think the idea is hilarious, he said, but everyone has been very supportive.

GKirby Collection is based at Copyhold Barn, Warninglid Lane, and is a small bespoke sports and supercar dealer. Visit www.gkirby.com.