'I never enjoyed exercise at school as I was bullied' says DJ, ahead of 400-mile bike feat

Published3 November 2026, 11:33 GMT

Radio presenter Owain Wyn Evans has admitted he "never enjoyed exercise at school" because of bullying, ahead of his four nations biking challenge for Children in Need.

The host of BBC Radio 2's Early Breakfast Show is set to cycle almost 400 miles over five days, setting off from Glasgow and finishing in Cardiff.

Evans, 42, who is originally from Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, begins his challenge in Scotland on 9 November, concluding the 643km feat in the Welsh capital on 13 November.

"Mentally, for me, it's been a challenge," said Evans. "Hopefully I'm going to inspire people to do exercise and realise that you can do this; you don't have to write off exercise forever."

'You can make a change'

"This is going to be really difficult for me personally, 100%," acknowledged Evans, who is undertaking his second challenge for the BBC charity fundraiser, following his 24-hour drumathon challenge back in 2021, external.

"I never had a good relationship with exercise when I was in school," the Welsh radio host said.

"I was bullied and I found going into a changing room, football field or rugby pitch... were places I didn't feel safe when I was growing up.

He said he hoped "people who are seeing me do this, understand that this is a tough one for me".

"And maybe there will be people watching this now who think, 'yeah when I was in school I didn't like PE...'," said Evans who remembered "never fitting in in some way".

"For me, as a 42-year-old man, who's had that experience for his whole life, I guess I am now realising that you can make a change in your life and you can make a difference.

"It's taken a while, but this challenge is what has helped me reach this point," he said.

"It's a four-nation, 400-mile cycle challenge... all of those things are alien to me," said Evans, who didn't even own a bike before the current challenge.

"I'm not a cyclist. I'm not an endurance athlete in any way, shape or form - and when I was asked to do this, of course I said yes, because I love Children in Need and have an existing relationship with them."

However, he added: "I did think - gulp - am I going to be able to do this? And that's been a bit of a recurring thing for me ever since.

"Am I good enough? Am I going to be able to do this? Will I succeed? Will I finish?"

He described Children in Need as "an incredible charity - we're so lucky to have it", but he stressed the extent of the support required, with the annual fundraiser only able "to help one out of the six projects that approach it".

Reflecting on his months of training, Evans said: "I think, for me, the hurdles are the hills. I think the distance stuff I'm kind of ok with, but you never know how long or how steep a hill is going to be.

"One of the worst things I did was look at the weather forecast for the challenge week, because it looks like it's going to be cold, wet and windy - famously not good conditions for cyclists.

"But it is what it is. Being a weather presenter for so many years - back in the day - I know there's one thing about the weather you can't do, and that's change it!"

'Hiraeth is very real'

The BBC said Evans' challenge would be the "greatest ever distance" covered in a Radio 2 endeavour for the charity.

After cycling through Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales, Evans said bringing the challenge to a close in Cardiff will be "special".

"That was something I wanted to happen from the very beginning, so I think it will be a very emotional moment - arriving in Cardiff on that final morning."

Despite having worked all over the UK, he said: "I've always thought I'd like to return to Wales, because I believe we Welsh people tend to want to come back home.

"This feeling of hiraeth is very real, and I certainly felt it while I was away."

Related topics

Children in Need

Ammanford

Fundraising

BBC

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