Alan Shearer to ride for Sport Relief

It’s great to hear that Toon legend Sir Alan Shearer OBE MBE is to ride 350 miles from Newcastle down to the BBC TV studios in London. In a day and a half.

It’s to raise cash for Sport Relief, but it’s not a one-off. The idea for the ride came when Lord Shearer told Match of the Day 2 presenter Adrian Chiles that he’d taken up cycling. Chiles - a chubby Brummie - was then persuaded to get on his bike and join Shearer.

Should retail billioniare Mike Ashley appoint Lord Shearer as co-manager of Newcastle United FC, it would be great to see the new cyclist make cycling into an everyday part of a footballer’s training. Most managers make sure their players stay away from bikes (too many chances of injury?). Luxury car loving footy players are not going to arrive at training grounds on carbon-fibre superbikes but as part of a fitness regime, cycling is excellent.

Just don’t fall off on cinder tracks, as Kevin Keegan did at Bracknell in 1976 while filming for European Superstars.