Epic motorcycle trip boosts charity funds

Jul 17 2008 by Lesley Brown, Hamilton Advertiser

A FORMER cancer sufferer from Hamilton has helped raise over £12,000 for charity by taking part in a motorcycle tour of the UK.

Ian Mitchell (43), alongside eight other motorcyclists, made the 2750-mile trip in aid of Cancer Research and UNICEF.

Leaving from Edinburgh Castle on April 28, the journey, dubbed ‘Another Way Around’, took the team to the four ‘corners’ of Britain — Dover, Lands End, Cape Wrath and John O’Groats — before finishing back at the castle on May 2.

A total of £9260 has so far been raised for cancer research and a further £3500 will go to UNICEF.

Ian, originally from West Lothian, is an engineer and lives in Corsock Avenue, Earnock.

His wife Janette is from Burnbank and they have three children: 21-year-old Fiona, Gillian (14) and Hayley (17).

Ian was last year diagnosed with lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the body’s immune system.

He was treated at Hairmyres and Gartnavel hospitals, and received the ‘all clear’ from doctors just days before taking part in the motorcycle challenge.

“We left on a Monday, and I got the all clear the Friday before, so that just made the trip even more positive and meant we really left on a high.”

Eight of the nine participants are from Scotland, and the other is from England.

They are: Alistair Twaddle, Chapelton; Ian’s brother Jim and cousins Craig and Nick Pender, West Lothian; Bob Turner, who decided to join the group just a fortnight before the trip; Bobby Burns, who got in touch after reading an article about the fund-raiser; Brian Ainsley, proprietor of Beecraigs Restaurant where the group held a fund-raising dinner; and Sean Jones.

The men spent around 12 hours on the road each day, travelling an average of 500 miles during that time, and slept in budget hotels. Ian admitted it wasn’t easy.

He said: “It rained non-stop from the day we left. The weather was horrendous – at one point the road was white with hailstones, so the driving conditions weren’t ideal.

“It is mentally tiring doing a trip like this because your concentration levels have to be top notch and you have to maintain that focus.”

“But it really was great fun, and I’m so glad I got to take part.”

“Some of the scenery up north was amazing, and it was great to see more of the UK. We hoped to get a photograph of the team at the John O’Groats and Lands End signs but found out there was a £25 charge to do that. That was the only thing that really annoyed me on the trip.”

The cost of petrol, which came to over £2000, was partly subsidised by Ryan Refrigeration in West Lothian, who donated fuel cards.

The group are now planning their next fund-raising trip, which will see them travel across the Alps in Italy next May.

They hope to visit the Ferrari, Ducati and Mottoguzzi motorcycle factories during the challenge, which is expected to last nine days.

Details and numbers for the trip have not yet been finalised, but the charities to benefit are Cancer Research and CHAS, with funds being split equally between the two.

Fund-raising will be supplemented by the raffling of a brand new BMW F 800 GS motorcycle.

A total 5000 tickets are going to be sold at £5 each, after which a winning ticket will be drawn. Around 1300 tickets must be sold to cover the cost of the bike, but when all 5000 tickets are sold, the charities will still receive a massive £18,500.

In the first two days, over £800 of raffle tickets were sold.

To get yours, email ianrs16i@hotmail.com or jeffcheff68@aol.com

Tickets will also be available to buy at Motorrad Central East in Dalkeith and Motorrad Central West in Bishopbriggs, Glasgow.