Owain is due to catch the ferry from Belfast to Birkenhead tonight and we've heard the crossing can get a little bit choppy. But why is that?

Winds over the Irish Sea can create short, steep waves rather than long, gentle swells, giving the ferry a more frequent, jolting motion. When those waves meet an opposing tidal current, they can become steeper still. With around eight hours at sea, there’s plenty of time to notice this!

It isn’t always rough and today's forecast is currently moderate. Owain will be hoping for a calm crossing after the day he has already endured.

John Nellis
Northern Irish YouTuber and Strictly contestant

What a challenge. 400 miles in all four nations. Good luck for it. You're going to be amazing. You've got this!

Owain’s feat is the latest in many big challenges Radio 2 has held for Children In Need over recent years.

Owain’s 4 Nations Cycle Challenge follows Sara Cox’s Great Northern Marathon Challenge in 2025, when Radio 2’s Breakfast Show host ran, jogged and walked from the Kielder Forest in Northumberland to Pudsey in Leeds, raising an incredible £11.7 million for BBC Children in Need.

Prior to Sara’s challenge, her Radio 2 colleague Paddy McGuinness completed a 300-mile Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge in 2024, riding across three nations on a classic Chopper bike.

Meanwhile, Vernon Kay took on his Ultra Ultramarathon Challenge, travelling on foot from Leicester’s Victoria Park to Bolton Wanderers’ Toughsheet Community Stadium in 2023.

Owain has been smashing Day 2 of his 4 Nations Cycle Challenge for Children in Need so far.

Back Owain if you can! If you'd like to support Owain with a text or online donation, you can find all the details below or at bbc.co.uk/owain.

Owain Wyn Evans
BBC Radio 2’s 4 Nations Cycling Superstar

I've known [Chris] since we were in primary school, and he's been with me through all sorts of times in my life. We've all got that person, I think. And having him turn up today at that time was just amazing. Yeah, it's definitely given me power to kind of move forward this afternoon with a bit of speed. And hopefully, we've got to get that ferry on time. We've got to get to the ferry!

As Owain cycles his way through Northern Ireland, there’s more than the route to get to grips with. The great Northern Irish dialect!

Here’s our handy guide to some local slang - from "footering" to feeling completely "banjaxed"!

Footering: Fiddling or tinkering with something, often without getting much done. “Owain, quit footering - you’re only putting off getting back on the bike!”

Banjaxed: Worn out, exhausted or broken. “Owain’s going to be absolutely banjaxed by the finish. Shania Chain might need a rest too.”

Foundered: Absolutely freezing. “Owain’s foundered. Someone put the kettle on at the next pit-stop.”

Gurning: Moaning or complaining. “That’s another hill ahead, Owain. No gurning!”

Hoke: A rummage or a search for something. “Owain’s having a hoke in his bag for another vegan sausage roll.”

Scundered: Embarrassed - particularly in Belfast. “I was scundered - I went out to wave at Owain and waved at a horse in a hi-vis.”

Geg: Someone or something that’s funny or good fun. “Owain’s some geg - he’s keeping everyone smiling!”

Bake: Your face. “Look at the bake on Owain. Someone’s just told him there’s another hill.”

Hallion: A rascal, often used affectionately. “Owain, you wee hallion. Did you just eat the last biscuit?”

Peeler: A police officer. “Owain met a familiar ‘peeler’ earlier - actor Neil Keery from Blue Lights!”

Houl yer wheesht: Be quiet! “Houl yer wheesht - I think I can hear Owain coming!”

In summary...

“Owain’s a geg. He’s done hardly any gurning, but we imagine he’ll be totally banjaxed by the time he reaches Belfast tonight.”

Owain Wyn Evans
BBC Radio 2’s 4 Nations Cycling Superstar

Today is quite hard, actually. Obviously, I've got this bad knee. If you've been listening this morning, you'll hear me talking about my knee. Bit of a twinge in the old knee. And it's been quite hilly today.

And what's quite worrying is, compared to other days, you know, I don't know much about it, but I did kind of think that today would be reasonably flat. And I think it kind of has been.

It's been emotional as well because just before you came on, Spooner, I don't know if you heard, Jeremy surprised me. My best friend Chris turned up at our last pit stop and I was just like, oh, all over the place.

Learning of Owain's bike name, this is what one Shania Twain had to say about it.

"Let's go Owain... I love it!"

DJ Spoony just played Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' on BBC Radio 2, a reference to the name of Owain's trusty bike. As the lyrics go: "You would never break the chain."

If you missed it, Owain asked listeners to his Radio 2 show (Mon - Fri, 4-6:30am) to suggest names for the bike he’ll be riding during his challenge.

He had some brilliant pun-tastic suggestions, such as Onya Bike which he cited as one of his personal favourites, before whittling it down to a top three.

In a very respectable third place was Britney Gears. So near, yet so far, in the runner-up spot was Kylie Spinogue. But the winner, as suggested by listener Dave, was Shania Chain!

Earlier, Belfast actor Neil Keery staged a joke arrest, knocking on the door of Owain's caravan!

"Owain! I'm here to bring you in, Son. Me and the boys are here!"

Neil is perhaps best recognised for his wonderfully deadpan portrayal of Sergeant Laurence McCloskey in BBC One’s Blue Lights, where his dry wit and sharp one-liners have made him a firm favourite with viewers.

Away from the screen, Neil is also a dance-fitness instructor, so we hope he had a few witty remarks and some energetic moves up his sleeve to lift Owain's spirits!

• Watch Blue Lights on BBC iPlayer

Yes!

You can follow Owain's every move with our special tracker which will chart his progress throughout his 4 Nations Cycle Challenge - available now on the BBC Children in Need website, external.

A truly heartwarming moment just now, as Owain was surprised by his best friend from back in school - Chris.

"Oh, Chris, this is so lush," Owain beamed. "What are you doing here? I didn’t enjoy school, and I didn’t enjoy any of that time really, but I enjoyed being your friend."

Owain Wyn Evans
BBC Radio 2’s 4 Nations Cycling Superstar

It’s given me a weird relationship with exercise, because I always felt like that wasn’t a place for me. But if someone’s listening now and it’s like when me and Chris were in school, it’s fine. You don’t have to love PE, but ultimately exercise is good for you.

Steel from Gladiators
Zack Knight

It was lots of little changes over two or three years. It wasn’t a quick, easy fix. I had ups and downs, but it was a big old journey. People look at us and just assume we’ve always been mega fit. When I show a child a picture of what I was like when I was younger, it makes them realise that anything is possible.

Owain Wyn Evans
BBC Radio 2’s 4 Nations Cycling Superstar

Owain caught up with Jeremy Vine as he took a pit stop and had his lunch - and he was surprised by his best friend, Chris!

You can listen along live on Radio 2 by clicking or tapping the 'Listen Live' button at the top of the page. Or ask your smart speaker to play BBC Radio 2 - get more help with using smart speakers here.

You can also take Owain with you via the BBC Sounds app if you're on the move - if you've not downloaded it, here's some help in getting started.

Ahead of his 4 Nations Cycle Challenge, Owain shared his Tracks Of My Years with Radio 2’s Vernon Kay - the influential music that has soundtracked his life.

We’re looking at the songs he picked and what he said about them.

Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind

“All I wanted to do was play the drums but the school wouldn’t let me. I remember being in a music lesson with one of these Casio keyboards,” says Owain.

“One of the preset demos was Pet Shop Boys’ Always On My Mind. I remember hearing it thinking, ‘Oh my God, I love this.’

“Little did I know I was listening to the band who had been so instrumental in the way in which LGBT people were seen through the 80s and 90s. It made such a positive impact. That's one of the reasons why that song will always have a special place in my heart.”

Listen to all of Owain’s Tracks Of My Years here:

Owain Wyn Evans
BBC Radio 2’s 4 Nations Cycling Superstar

It’s going to be so exciting now. But as with yesterday, there’s this pressure today. There was pressure yesterday to get onto the ferry to come over to Northern Ireland, and in equal measure there’s pressure today to get back to England. I’m trying to keep a good pace and keep an eye on my dodgy knee. There’s still this pressure for sure.

Owain Wyn Evans
BBC Radio 2’s 4 Nations Cycling Superstar

I’ve just left a lovely little village called Coagh, and the kids came out. It was so lovely! But you know what I’ve been surprised with? Lakes are famously flat, aren’t they? But the roads around the lake... oh my gosh, it’s so bumpy. It’s so hilly!

Sarah Keith-Lucas
BBC Weather

He had a bit of mistiness this morning when he started off from Larne, but Owain must have been having a word with the weather gods. It’s his inside line, like all of us weather forecasters have! He’s chosen one of the best weeks of autumn. Great weather in Scotland yesterday, and today it’s looking dry in Northern Ireland too.