World Famous in Stornoway...?

I can now reveal to the rest of the world that last Thursday we headlined in the Stornoway Gazette - with the brilliant (if a little corny) headline of 'Bill and Richard's Excellent Adventure'.

Jenny Kane of the Stornoway Gazette kindly gave us some great publicity for the forthcoming ride, and I think I'll adopt that headline as the official name for our Western Isles tour!

Here's Jenny's article:


Bill and Richard’s excellent adventure
Cycle tour around 42 Scottish islands
Touring as many islands in the Western Isles as he can in one month, Bill Honeywell will be cycling on a road near you this summer, all in aid of Cancer Research UK, writes Jenny Kane. And it seems every time the Gazette catches up with him a new destination has been added to the list which now stands at 42 West Coast islands, including most of the Outer Hebrides. By mid May Bill will be arriving in Tarbert, Harris, after having hopefully already covered more than 20 islands. From there he will go on to tour Lewis, Scaplay, Berneray, North Uist, Baleshare, Grimsay, Benbecula, Flodaigh, Griomasaigh, South Uist, Eriskay, Barra
and Vatersay.  Accompanying Bill on his mammoth mission is his good friend and fellow cycling enthusiast Richard Dugdale.

Fifty-nine year old Lancashire man Bill is no stranger to big challenges. It all started in 2009 when he completed a fund-raising walk in the Lake District.  Bill explained: “A good friend of mine died of cancer, she was a big fan of walking the Wainwrights in the Lake District. I walked all 214 in two months in memory of Margaret.”  In 2011 Bill then cycled 4,440 miles around the coast of Great Britain, raising £30,000 for Cancer Research UK.  Raising money for charity is something Bill talks very passionately about: “When I started doing sponsored trips the national charity Cancer Research UK was top of my list to support.  “I have had cancer twice and am still here. I’ve had friends affected by cancer and who have died of cancer. I think it’s important to help these charities.”

For this latest venture in the Western Isles it will be just Bill, Richard and two bikes - carrying everything they need, island hopping and chasing after ferries. “We can’t afford to drop behind schedule, and we can’t afford to miss any ferries,” explained Bill.  “We’ve really got to make sure we keep going. It will all depend on the weather. A cyclist's biggest challenge is the wind. It will be that and not the mileage that’s the challenge. I’ve heard you’ve got a lot of wind up there.”  Fingers crossed for good weather then this coming May, something that would be a novelty for Bill who had to rescue his motor home from a fallen tree on his last challenge on the way to the Corran Ferry. This time round, with no motor home, Bill and Richard will be staying with friends along the way.

But they are still looking for accommodation in the Outer Hebrides.  “If anyone’s got a spare room and want to meet a couple of mad cyclists we will be very grateful. Just one room will be fine. We’re both married men and one of us can sleep on the floor,” laughed Bill.  For every Hotel, B&B or home they stay in a donation will be made to Cancer Research UK.  So if you will have a free room in May on any of the islands they will be travelling through in the Outer Hebrides, get in contact with Bill on his Blog at www.billhoneywell.blogspot.com or contact the Stornoway Gazette by email on jenny.kane@stornowaygazette.co.uk.

You can also find out more information about Bill and Richard’s bike ride, and how to sponsor him, on his blog or you can follow his progress on Twitter @CancerBikeMan.