CYCLIST Mark Temple is taking a castle-to-castle cycling challenge to raise money for charity.


The 52-year-old will ride from Warwick Castle to Oxford Castle before completing a half marathon around the city, all in aid of charity. 
Mark, a bus driver for Oxford Bus Company, is completing the mammoth 50-mile ride to raise funds for Sobell House, a city hospice providing specialist palliative care. 
He chose the charity because he has a personal connection with the hospice, as both his father and his wife’s grandmother passed away there. 


Mark said: “Sobell House is such a wonderful place and do so much for the patients and families at the hardest point in their lives.
“My father was in there in his last couple weeks of life and cancer took so much from him but the staff helped him maintain his dignity. 


“Sobell House gave him such brilliant treatment and made his remaining days fantastic which I cannot thank them enough.”
Oxford Bus Company has said it will match the funds Mark raises and so he is hoping to raise ‘at least £1,000’. 


Mark previously completed 50 marathons in a year between May 2018 and May 2019, raising nearly £5,000 for charity. 
Training is well under way and Mark already rides 50 miles a week on average. 
The ride is on September 5, with money being collected via a JustGiving page. 
Mark said: “It is not all about speed and getting from A to B as quick as possible. 
“It is just about completing the miles.”