A CHALLENGE-mad dad-of-three will need an extra big bike to cope with his monster frame when he cycles through the Jordan deserts.

Six feet six inches tall Nick McCraith, a doctor from Penwortham, Preston, will fly out to the Middle Eastern country this weekend for a 200-mile bike trek over five days.

The gruelling agenda involves cycling some 60 miles every day, but this is no sweat for the fitness fanatic who is also the medical officer for the University and Preston North End. Nick has just come back from a three-week trekking holiday in Nepal and in the summer, he spent four days scaling Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. He climbed the 19,500 feet with his 12-year-old son Graeme.

Nick, aged 44, said: "The last day of the climb when we were almost at the summit was desperately difficult.

"I'm at the stage where I'm thinking I've got to do these out of the ordinary things before it's too late!

"Jordan shares a large border with Iraq so I've been keeping a close eye on Saddam Hussein's activities. Luckily he seems to have quietened down."

The Jordan bike ride challenge, called Arabian Nights, will pass through medieval towns, the country's capital of Aqaba and the beautiful Petra, a city carved in cliffs.

Nick has raised £4,000 for the National Deaf Children's Society thanks to contributions from generous patients, PNE players and the local branch of the Catenians Catholic group.

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