From Teesside To The Open: Four Friends Cycle 200 Miles For A Cause Close to Home

Four lifelong friends from Teesside set off yesterday (Tuesday) on a 200-mile cycling challenge to reach The Open Championship at Royal Portrush — all in support of a cause deeply personal to one of them.

This morning, they arrived safely in Belfast and then onward to Carnlough! 

Iain Beddow, along with Jack Sullivan, Matt Whitehill and Ollie Jones, will begin their journey in Cheshire, riding to Birkenhead before catching the overnight ferry to Belfast. From there, they’ll take on the spectacular — and hilly — Causeway Coast, arriving in Portrush just in time for Friday’s championship golf.

The ride is more than a sporting adventure. It’s a fundraiser for the PSP Association, in honour of Iain’s mum, Pamela Beddow, who is living with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) — a rare, devastating neurological condition that gradually impacts movement, balance, speech, and cognition.

“Watching PSP take hold has been incredibly hard,” Iain says. “This ride is for Mum — and to raise awareness of a condition most people have never even heard of.”

The team’s journey is also steeped in personal history. Iain’s family has deep roots along the Northern Irish coast — his great-grandparents were captains at Castlerock Golf Club, and summers were often spent on those very roads they’ll now cycle.

The friends will return home via ferry from Belfast on Saturday, legs tired but hearts full — having not only reached The Open, but helped shine a light on PSP along the way.

You can support their cause and follow their journey here: justgiving.com/page/ridetotheopen2025