Covid-19 has posed many challenges on both personal and business levels, so after Andrew Monkhouse of Complete Engineering Services (Carlisle) Ltd spent 10 days in Cumberland Infirmary recovering from the disease back in January, he, along with co-managing director Alan Walker and long-standing motorcycling friend Denzil Addison, decided it was time to put a long-held plan into action and at the same time raise money for the Infirmary and Blood Bikes Cumbria.

Prior to the pandemic all three were regularly to be found on continent-busting adventures on their Ducati Multistrada motorcycles, but all that stopped with travel restrictions. So, the trio reverted to the UK for their motorcycle miles, formalising their plan to ride the entire UK coastline in three legs. The first of these was to start in Cumbria, going around the Scottish coast, including Arran, Mull, Sky and the Orkneys, seven ferries and 1,330 miles in 10 days.

No problem on the Ducati, but that was too easy — the motorcycles of choice for this trip would be three 30 year-old Honda Super Cub 50cc motorcycles. With less than 5hp, a top speed of 37mph, flat out with a tail wind, but with around 100mpg achievable they can eek out the 1.1 gallon fuel tank, filled with 98 octane petrol for extra power! With zero trepidation the Super Cubs were fired up and the journey began with an escort out of Carlisle by members of the Blood Bikes team to the sounds of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries!

This first leg will end on Holy Island, when the trio will return to their normal day jobs — Alan and Andrew back at Complete Engineering Services and Denzil out on the golf course. The second and third legs will take the total mileage to 4,700 and will be undertaken at a later date and will see them heading south down the east coast of England, along the south coast ending up at Land’s End.

The third leg will get them back home to Carlisle, via Wales and possibly a lap of the TT course on the Isle of Man — plans are already afoot to add a fourth leg around Ireland.

Mr Monkhouse said: “Both my wife and I were hospitalised with Covid-19 back in January and we couldn’t have been better looked after, so this opportunity to mix some great banter with mates, along with a challenge of three old blokes on bikes that are more at home running to the shops, with raising money to thank the Infirmary for the life-saving care they administered and to Blood Bikes, which Denzil has a long association with, was too good to miss.”

As they were already hatching plans to do this anyway, the trio are covering all of their costs for fuel and accommodation themselves, meaning any sponsorship raised from individuals, and companies, such as Ceratizit UK & Ireland will go directly to the Infirmary and Blood Bikes Cumbria.

Anyone wishing to support Andrew, Alan and Denzil can donate here. Ceratizit UK & Ireland sponsorship brings added incentive as they will donate £1 per mile on a daily basis to keep the total ticking over.

Tony Pennington, Ceratizit UK & Ireland managing director, pictured in the company’s employee zone, affectionately known as the ‘Spitfire Bar’ with Alan Walker and Andrew Monkhouse of Complete Engineering Services, said: “Andrew and Alan as well as being customers of Ceratizit have also become friends of ours over the years we have worked together, so when we heard about this ‘adventure’ we were happy to get involved.

“As a company we have supported manufacturing initiatives such as the Ventilator Challenge, but this is a more personal endeavour — and maybe a crazy endeavour — but hopefully it marks a return to some more normal times as we continue to recover as individuals and a country from the pandemic.”