It’s a two-wheeled challenge with a difference.
Huddersfield biker Clare Ellam has joined more than 20 other motorcyclists on a charity motorbike ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
Clare, who lives at Dalton, is riding her modified Suzuki RV125 on the trip, called Daft Way Up, which has been organised by Richard Manton, of the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG).
Together, the riders aim to raise at least £5,000 to be split between MAG and Macmillan Cancer Care.
Clare, who is a member of the Wakefield branch of MAG, said: “The stipulation was that we have to ride ‘inappropriate’ bikes – small engined bikes or old bikes. We will be travelling on A and B roads all the way because some of the bikes will be quite slow. Some are from the 1950s. There may be a few breakdowns on the way, but we will all muck in to make sure we get there.”
The 874-mile week-long challenge got underway on Easter Sunday – April Fool’s Day – and Clare is celebrating her 36th birthday three days into the adventure.
Clare, who works as a kitchen designer at Expressions in Lockwood, paid £1,300 for her 125cc machine, which has been modified by her boyfriend James Dewart, 33, who is a bike mechanic.
“I bought it from a guy who worked in a bike shop,” she said. “It’s 10 years old, but it’s a bargain because they keep their value.”
The machine is capable of 65mph and does 90 to 100 miles to the gallon, which means fuel for the whole trip will cost Clare only about £70.
The modifications carried out by James include new handlebars, a lowered and re-upholstered seat, a new exhaust system and a guard on the headlight to prevent it being smashed by stones thrown up from the road. The machine has also had a respray from grey to turquoise.
“It’s a bit of a nostalgia thing,” said Clare. “I had a Suzuki RV125 when I first started biking. I rode it to go camping in the Lake District and I had it for two years.”
She said biking was in the blood. Her father, 70-year-old Warwick Ellam, is a biker and has a 1970s Honda. Clare remembers riding pillion with him when she was younger.
She said: “When I got my first bike I didn’t tell him. When he saw it he just smirked!”
She is being supported on the trip by Not Your Average Bike, a bike workshop in Ossett which has a sponsor form for people to sign.
MAG works nationally to help promote and protect riders’ rights throughout the UK and works with partners to support worthy causes.
To donate go to www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mag-daft-way-up . You can also follow the Daft Way Up Diary on Facebook.
