Comic Relief said James’s challenge would help support vital projects providing food, shelter, and safety, with “every mile pedalled helping to put food on tables, secure safe places to sleep, and protect those at risk of harm”.
The eight-day journey will see him joined on the tandem by a series of surprise guests.
HUUB has supplied James with kit to withstand the physical demands of the challenge, including special cycling shorts and waterproof outerwear.
Mercian Cycles, which has been making bikes since 1946 and was rescued from liquidation in 2024, has built a lightweight steel-framed, hand-painted red tandem to James’s exact dimensions, along with a blue back-up bike.
The company has also provided four standard bikes of “various sizes” to be used by those joining James on the challenge.