JON Parkin wants to stay at York City next season, but he’ll be getting on his bike as soon as the current campaign has ended.

The 37-year-old veteran is participating in Prostate Cancer UK’s Football to Amsterdam 2019 trip, which will see him pedal 134 miles in two days from his home-town club Barnsley to the Dutch capital.

Parkin admits a night out in the Netherlands will provide a “little carrot” as he joins hundreds of others climbing in the saddle this June.

But he was keen to stress, in his own inimitable style, that the main motivation was to urge all men not to be afraid of “going and getting a finger up their backside” if they feel they might be suffering from prostate cancer’s symptoms, such as frequent urination, weak or interrupted urine flow or blood in the urine.

Legendary footballers Ray Clemence and Denis Law have both opened up about their battles with prostate cancer in recent years and the most up-to-date research has shown that one man dies of the disease every 45 minutes in the UK, while one male in every nine will get it during their lifetime.

The Prostate Cancer UK ride has become an annual event and Parkin will join hundreds of other fundraisers, including his UndrTheCosh podcast co-host and former Sunderland striker Chris Brown as well as ex-England right-back Viv Anderson, setting off from Oakwell on June 7.

After cycling 73 miles on the first day, the group will travel across the North Sea overnight by ferry and, then, complete the 61-mile second leg in Holland where they will enjoy a celebration dinner in Amsterdam, meeting up with a second group travelling from London, before sleeping off their exertions and heading back to England by plane.

Explaining his incentive for pedaling through two countries, Parkin said: “As part of the UndrTheCosh podcast, we got approached from somebody at Prostate Cancer UK, who run the trip, and were asked whether we wanted to be involved to, hopefully, help raise the charity’s profile and raise some money. Cancer has touched my life and, while prostate cancer hasn’t, it’s a massive deal and the statistics are outrageous and quite frightening because they’re bigger than you’d actually think.

“I think men are sort of reluctant to go and get a finger up their backside, but it can save your life and that’s the message we want to get out there. It’s a fantastic charity and riding to Amsterdam for a night out will be the little carrot to help us complete the trip.”

Parkin intends to join the ride every year from now on, even though he confesses that it has been a long time since he cycled outdoors.

“As footballers, you always do a bit of bike work when you’re getting back from injuries, but that’s on static machines,” the former Championship campaigner reasoned. “It’s a long time since I’ve been out on the roads and I’ve never gone that far in one go, but I’m sure we’ll be able to grind through it.

“I’ve not trained for it as yet, because it’s hard when the nights are dark, but there will be just over a month between the end of the season and when we go, and I think I’ll be out most days then.”

Parkin also believes there will be no real pressure exerted on the long-standing knee problem that he has had to manage during the latter years of his football career.

He will, however, be looking to acquire new attire before he undertakes the challenge.

“I got stitched up because the UndrTheCosh lads ordered me a medium-sized Lycra shirt and, when I first got it, I thought: ‘That looks small, but it must stretch when I put it on’,” he explained. “Obviously, it didn’t though, and it rode halfway up my belly, so I looked like Daffyd (Little Britain’s ‘Only Gay in the Village’ TV show character), and I’ll need to get one that fits now.”

Parkin has already raised funds for the charity from audience members at live UndrTheCosh podcast shows, but details of a Just Giving donations page will be given shortly at the @UndrTheCosh Twitter handle.

Anybody interested in joining Parkin and his fellow cyclists, meanwhile, still have until April 1 to register.

A total of £650 in sponsorship will need to be raised by that date and a minimum total of £1,200 in donations is required to take part in the trip, with an £175 registration fee also needed.

Participants will need to be 18 or over by June 7 with two nights’ accommodation, return flights, all meals and snacks covered.

The route will be fully signposted too, with cycle guides, mechanical assistance and medical support all on hand.

All finishers will receive medals and get to keep their Prostate Cancer UK jerseys and orange F2A wristbands.

For more details on the trip and to sign up or register your interest, please visit www.prostatecanceruk.org/get-involved/football-to-amsterdam-2019