Dolled-up Chapel-en-le-Frith pals complete 125-mile sexy Santa ride for lost friend

Joe Beswick and Dan Wheeldon took on the feat for school friend Kyle Jones who died of the disease aged just 19 in 2011 - raising over £3,500 for the Bone Cancer Research Trust.

The mad duo - who were decked out in Mrs Claus mini dresses, wigs and booties - saw off the mammoth distance in 11 hours - on Joe’s pink, 90s-era tandem mountain bike.

Teaching assistant Joe described how 19-year-old Kyle - known among friends for his teen beard and ‘beer-drinking skills’ - suffered with rare Ewing’s Sarcoma from a young age.

He was first diagnosed with the painful illness aged five – however following a long period of remission the aggressive cancer returned when he was 17.

Joe, 27, told how Kyle often kept the seriousness of his prognosis hidden from friends - however in 2011 he and Dan received a text informing them their friend had passed away.

Amateur cyclist Joe said: “At the time we were quite naive as to how bad it was - we could see he was deteriorating but he was quite good at hiding just how bad it was from us.

“Kyle was one of the lads - he was famous for growing a beard before anyone else and was good at drinking beer.”

Speaking about the Christmas Eve ride Joe described how supportive locals lined parts of the route to cheer the pair on.

He said: “Everyone was getting ready for Christmas so it was a nice atmosphere - although they looked a bit confused by our outfits at first.”

However he added that around the 85-mile mark the cold started to take its toll.

“The cold really started to take effect around that point,” said Joe.

“But we got some coats on and a friend met us on the Monsal trail with a curry.”

Joe told how Kyle’s family, grateful for the money they were raising in his memory, appeared during their second lap.

You can make a donation at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/joe-beswick1.

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