Doddie's Grand Tour on course for the Scottish Borders
Charity cycle is to raise money to help find a cure for Motor Neurone Disease
Last updated 5th Feb 2025
A charity cycle in memory of the late Borders rugby star Doddie Weir is set to pass through our region later.
Led by his former Scotland team-mate Rob Wainwright, the Grand Tour is raising money to find a cure for Motor Neurone Disease - and has already received online donations totalling more than £400,000.
The team are due to stay overnight in Peebles on Wednesday, after passing through Langholm, Hawick, Kelso and Galashiels, as they pedal 800 miles from Ireland to Scotland ahead of this weekend's Six Nations clash between the two countries.
Wainwright, now 59, said: "We have 25 stops planned - schools and clubs that we will be dropping in on.
"Doddie's name still opens doors, and they are opening the doors of their clubs, and letting us in. Sometimes we're sleeping on their floors and being fed, but the generosity being shown to us is massive.
Among those joining Wainwright on the journey are former Ireland and British & Irish Lions centre Gordon D’Arcy, Scotland rugby legend Scott Hastings, broadcaster and Deacon Blue drummer Dougie Vipond, record-breaking cyclist Mark Beaumont, and Weir’s widow, Kathy, who will take part in the final leg of the tour in Edinburgh.
Doddie’s Grand Tour - which began at Dublin’s iconic Guinness Storehouse on Tuesday - saw around 45 riders tackle the first 100-mile leg from Dublin to Belfast, before crossing to Cairnryan, where the Scottish leg began this morning.
More teams, individuals, and support crews will then join the journey that will take cyclists through Wigtownshire, Dumfries, the Scottish Borders, Glasgow, Perthshire, and up to Stonehaven before finishing in Edinburgh.
Wainwright, who toured South Africa with the British & Irish Lions alongside Weir in 1997, has already raised more than £2.5 million for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation through previous fundraising challenges.
The charity was set-up by Weir following his diagnosis in 2016. He died in 2022 at the age of 52.
Wainwright added: “People ask me why I keep doing these challenges – the answer is simple. Like Doddie, I want to see a world free of MND. His memory and everything he fought for drives us forward.
“We believe MND is not an incurable disease – it’s an underfunded one. The more money we raise for research through Doddie’s Grand Tour and other incredible events, the closer we’ll get to the day when an MND diagnosis no longer means a devastating future.”
To donate to Doddie’s Grand Tour, visit here. To track the ride, visit: https://www.followmychallenge.com/live/doddie-ride-2025/
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