THE family of a popular cyclist said they can take some comfort know he died doing what he loved.

Father-of-three Gordon Holden suffered a heart attack just outside Winston on Thursday, May 16 - 70 miles into a cycle ride with some friends.

The 56-year-old fitness fanatic loved the sport so much he would enjoy regular rides and often took part in different challenges, including the Hell O’ the North. He also helped raised £10,000 for charity cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

He had been building a vintage Mercier bicycle and hoped to put it on the wall of his newly refurbished dining room once it was finished.

His wife Susan said: “I told him there was no way it was going on display in the house but now once our youngest son Adrian has finished it I will be putting it up.

“I always joked with him and said he would die on his bike but I never expected it would be now. Apart from going on holiday, he has never missed a cycle ride on a Sunday since I met him. He was so fit and strong.

“At least he died doing something he loved.”

He was a keen member of the Ferryhill Wheelers and he also enjoyed trips out with his Bishop Auckland Round Table group.

Mr and Mrs Holden married at St Andrew’s Church, in Bishop Auckland in 1981 and they had three children – Andrew, Alexandra and Adrian.

Mr Holden worked in the building trade all his life and became a partner in new company Arran Construction, which focused on light industrial building work in the area, in 1985. He retired last year.

“He worked extremely hard,” said Mrs Holden. “He really threw himself into it and gave it everything he had.

“We struggled at first but then it began to pay off and it really benefited our children. He sacrificed so much to make sure we were alright. That was the kind of man he was.”

He is survived by his wife, three children, twin sister Diane, and mother Hazel, who brought him up in Bishop Auckland alongside his late father Bill.

The funeral will take place at St Andrew’s Church on Friday, May 24, at 12.30pm followed by a service at Coundon Crematorium. The wake will be held afterwards in Whitworth Hall, Spennymoor.

The family request flowers or donations towards the British Heart Foundation.