Five intrepid motorcyclists are preparing to ride from Lands End to John O’Groats non-stop, all in aid of St Richard’s Hospice.
On 4th June, the five bikers will ride the 850 miles from the most southerly tip of mainland UK to the most northerly in one go. The team will be undertaking the challenge in memory of Colleen McCarthy who was cared for by St Richard’s Hospice before her death in 2008.
Rob North, aged 51 from Worcester, will be joined by son Andrew, aged 24 and friends Lewis Jones, aged 42, and Roger Jones, aged 69, also from Worcester, along with Peter Vinicombe, aged 62, from Cheltenham. Most of the experienced bikers are members of Cheltenham’s Harley Davidson Club and had wanted to take on the iconic ride for some time. They decided to dedicate the ride to Colleen and raise money in aid of the local charity.
The long distance route will take them through 12 counties of England and Scotland. From their start point at Lands End, Cornwall, they will pass through many different landscapes, from the open moorland of Dartmoor, rolling farmland and conurbations of the Midlands, spectacular mountains of the Lake District and the wilderness of the Scottish lochs, before finishing at John O’Groats, the most northerly point of the UK’s mainland.
Rob North said; “We were very grateful for the care and support we received from St Richard’s at a particularly difficult time in our lives. Colleen left a son, Sam, then aged 17, who was planning to live with his grandmother after his Mother’s death. However his grandmother died suddenly just before his Mother and he had to then come and live with me and my wife, Carmel. The emotional trauma of losing his Mum and Nan in such a short period of time and then moving in with us, with my wife also grieving the loss of her mother and sister, was immense. Without the support of St Richard’s, who gave counselling to him and us, and for the unbelievable care and devotion they gave Colleen when she was dying, we would not have coped.”
To donate to the team’s fund, visit www.justgiving.com/Robert-North4