20261012 Mouldy Goes To Milan Session MGM 080

Folks,

Thank you for visiting the site where we aim to provide regular updates of the challenge Mouldy Goes to Milan

Background:

I’ll be cycling 1,050 miles and climbing 123,909 feet—virtually—from Glasgow to Milan. It won’t be fast, but I’ll get there. Every pedal stroke will be dedicated to raising much-needed funds for Celtic FC Foundation, which will be supporting the Paradise Recovery Cafe

The full background and inspiration for “Mouldy Goes To Milan” can be read / found here

Donate:

You can support this journey by donating at:

👉h ttps://www.justgiving.com/page/mouldygoestomilan

Alternatively by scanning the QR code below

Your contribution, no matter the amount, will help us continue supporting individuals on their recovery journey and will make a meaningful difference to the work of the Foundation.

Thank you once again for your kindness and generosity.

Overall route:

How will the cycle be executed:

In this more comprehensive blog post, I explain how this will be technically managed and executed—you can read more about it here

Todays cycle:

Delighted to announce that the cycle is virtually in the France and the climb over the alps in the direction of Italy had commenced

Having not been on a bike since August 2025, it was genuinely amazing just to get back on the bike recently, and get started again. Sometimes the biggest win is simply beating procrastination

Start of Cycle	End of Cycle
Hery Sur Ugine, France	Passy, France

Miles cycled	Feet Climbed	Minutes on bike	Average gradient
20.34	3041	110	6.50%

Today’s route was essentially one long climb of around 12.5 miles out of Héry-sur-Ugine, followed by a very welcome descent into Passy.

The road was relentless in places, with gradients that demanded the use of the granny gears. The French road engineers certainly seem to have had some fun when designing this particular route!

Despite the challenge, it is hugely satisfying to report that I have now completed 105,000 of the 124,000 feet of climbing required for the challenge, along with 887 miles ridden, which represents almost 85% of the overall distance.

Reaching these milestone are a proud moment and a reminder of how far we have come on this journey.

Progress is not always measured by distance alone. Sometimes it is simply about showing up, putting in the effort, and taking another step towards the goal.

As always, every mile covered is another step forward on the Road to Milan.

Cumulative progress

Miles cycled	Feet Climbed	Minutes on bike
887.30	105,304	4900

Target miles	Target climbing
1050 miles	123, 909 feet
% complete	% complete
84.50 %	84.98 %

Whilst the miles cycled and time spent on the bike are a far cry from the 100–125 miles a day, or 10–12 hours in the saddle, that I once rode, everything is relative.

These efforts currently are in context of chronic back, neck, and nerve pain, along with a supersized 300‑lb frame that has seen very limited exercise over the past 26 months.

Having seen the incredible highs of Lisbon and lows of impacted fitness and health in recent years, I am sincerley motivated by days like today on the journey back and to Milan

Because of that, I would encourage anyone who is thinking about trying some exercise to start small. Try ten minutes, see how you feel, and then try again three days later. When I was at my darkest point with injuries after 2021, and frankly scared to do anything at all, this was how my amazing physio, Brian Scott, helped me break through the mental torture and fear of physical relapse.

Mouldy Goes To Milan – Session MGM 080

I’ve shared a few screenshots from the Strava and Rouvy apps showing the route and session details.

Strava:

Rouvy:

Relive 3D video

We can relive today’s journey interactively by clicking following link:

The above sessions, miles, feet climbed and minutes relate to the “actual” progress being made by Mouldy as he goes to Milan this is done by replicating and following the GPX route

Today’s kit

Focusing on comfort and the fact that I am a big frame, tight lycra is currently not my friend.

Therefore I decided to wear something more comfortable from the Celtic shirt collection and plan to do so for the foreseeable future

I wore the Celtic training shirt from season 2025 2026 by Adidas

Where are we just now:

We kicked this project off in December with a clear goal: to support The Paradise Recovery Café and raise funds that may help change lives. What began as an idea quickly turned into action, driven by the belief that recovery, community, and hope deserve real backing.

Over recent months, a huge amount of energy and commitment has gone into organising a Race Night at Celtic Park — an incredible evening that raised an outstanding £8,620 towards the project.

In addition, a silent auction was held, contributing a further £1,565 to the total. Across the wider team, several other events were organised to support the cause, including quiz nights, golf days, another fundraising race night, all playing their part in driving the total higher.

Together, our team and supporters have raised a remarkable £62,268.99 to date, including Gift Aid.

It would be wonderful to build on the spirit, commitment and generosity shown so far and break through the magical £67,000 barrier. Again donations welcomed

The generosity, support, and shared belief in what we’re trying to achieve has been genuinely humbling.

Previous blogs

Along the way, we’ve put together a series of blogs covering the current Mouldy Goes To Milan Journey — you can find them all here.Previous blogs here

Beyond that we enclose details of our Utube channel which captures a number of videos from various charity projects, you can enjoy them here:

If you have some more time on your hands then we also enclose details of the amazing journey from Celtic Park to Seville — you can find them all here.Previous blogs here

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