On Friday, Matt Westcott will join hundreds of cyclists for the Prostate Cancer UK Football to Amsterdam charity ride. He spoke to celebrity riders Viv Anderson and Danny Wilson in the lead up

IF Viv Anderson suggests you do something you tend to agree without too much consideration.

That was certainly true for former Hartlepool manager Danny Wilson when he agreed to take part in a charity bike ride from England to Holland in aid of Prostate Cancer UK.

Anderson, the former Middlesbrough assistant manager and England defender, had taken part previously, but this was something completely new for Wilson.

The big stopper recalls: “I cajoled him into doing it. I plied him with drink and said ‘you should be doing a bike ride with me’.

“It was four or five weeks before the event and he came over with his wife for dinner with my wife and a few friends. We had a few drinks through the evening and as the night got rowdier I thought it was the right time to ask him about the ride.

“He said ‘what bike ride?’ and I said ‘I am going from Yorkshire to Amsterdam for Prostate Cancer UK’. He says ‘I quite fancy that’.

“I told him to hold that thought and straight away I got in touch with Prostate Cancer UK and told him I had got the ex-Barnsley manager to agree to come on the ride. I put him on the phone and the deal was done.”

The Football to Amsterdam ride goes from South Yorkshire to the Dutch capital with a ferry ride in-between. A separate ride starts simultaneously in the south of England with both sets of cyclists meeting up in Holland for the journey to the Amsterdam Arena.

Wilson’s recalls the moment he got involved with a smile.

“He basically tricked me into it,” he says. “I had never been on a bike since I was about five years old and Viv asked me if I fancied it and within seconds he was on the phone and that was it.

“I had three weeks to practice – it was all a bit strange. But we got through it with a lot of help. This time I have had a bit more time to prepare. I am not saying it will be any easier but I have more of an idea about what is in front of me.”

Asked why they do it, Anderson says: “It is the cause and camaraderie. It is a great few days. It’s hard work, don’t get me wrong. People pull you along. I am not one of these who wants to win everything. I was at the back. I remember a father and daughter encouraging me ‘come on Viv, not far now’ and all that.

“And at the end of it there’s a night out in Amsterdam and who doesn’t want to do that?”

As for training, Anderson has some advice.

“For anyone thinking of taking part I would recommend getting some miles in your legs. They said to me ‘it’s a walk in the park’ but it’s not a walk in the park, trust me,” he says.

“I do it once a year. I get Christmas out the way and I start training. I finish the race and then I don’t go on another bike until the next year. I am not really a converted cyclist, put it that way.

“I will do 20-odd miles and then build it up, with probably a 40-miler a few times. We try and do at least 20 miles a week up to the start.”

Wilson was a little wary before he set off for the first time.

“The hardest part for anyone who hasn’t done it before is getting on the bike and not knowing what is in front of you,” he says. “To be asked to do 200 miles was a little bit daunting, I really did not know what to expect.

“But as soon as the first leg was underway, I knew it was going to be a ride to remember. Everyone was so positive and helpful. I knew we wouldn’t have a problem.”

So what is it like when you finish?

“To go over the line all together and feel the sense of achievement, not just for yourself but everyone who is involved, is fantastic,” says Wilson. “The bonding was brilliant. The sense of achievement was awesome.”

Anderson agrees.

“It’s fantastic when you cross the line. The first year my missus was there with my kids – it was great to see them but there was also a relief to get off the bike. When you cross that line and you know you’ve made it without falling off or breaking an arm, it’s a great feeling. You get a nice glass of champagne and think ‘right, I can relax now’.”