Lydia Spencer-Elliott
BEST friends Angus Charlton and Hedley Smith are biking through 20 countries in 20 days to raise £20,000 for Alzheimer’s Society.
The 9,000km trip, which starts and ends in Spain, will be an epic challenge for both men.
“I’ve clocked up around 45K in the past 12 months,” said Charlton, “but even so, this will be my biggest challenge to date.”
Charlton and Smith will cross through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as much of Europe, with the entire journey scheduled to take less than three weeks.
Supporters can watch the mishaps and triumphs of the journey on the Mid-Life Bikers YouTube channel, which has been rapidly attracting viewers.
“The whole ‘Mid-Life Bikers’ thing is very tongue in cheek – we’re not serious petrol heads,” said Smith.
“We’ve planned for the trip as best we can, but you can guarantee things will go wrong, especially when it comes to border crossings and paperwork.”
Alzheimer’s Society is the charity of choice as Smith’s mother receives support from the organisation.
“It’s a cruel disease – it’s awful to see people you love robbed of their memories,” says Smith.
“Thankfully, mum still knows who I am but sometimes when I’ve visited and stayed overnight she’s been surprised to see me in the morning.”
The disease is one of the UK’s biggest killers. Worldwide, around 50 million people have dementia, with nearly 10 million new cases every year.
Supporters can donate to the Mid-Life Bikers’ Just Giving page to help them reach their £20K fundraising goal.
