Superbike collecting pensioner from Chorley to ride a scrapped motorbike over 1,000 miles for cancer research

After losing both his mum and niece to cancer, Chorley pensioner Jim Lindsay will be joining 33 other motorbike enthusiasts on June 21, in a bid to ride the full length of the UK and raise money for research into the terminal disease.

The event, which first began six years ago, gets passionate bike riders from across the country on board to ride one of the country’s most difficult journeys, from Lands End to John o’Groats, in the hope of raising money for Cancer Research UK.

Spanning more than 1,000 miles, keen bikers aim to complete the challenge in less than 24 hours and want to support the cancer charity after suffering from the illness, whether that be themselves or losing loved ones.

69-year-old Jim Lindsay, from Hoghton, claims to have one of the biggest superbike collections in Lancashire and will join other enthusiasts to remember his neice Zoe - and they have to ride scrap bikes worth no more than £300.

He said: “Everyone taking part has been hit hard by cancer so it is a cause close to so many of our hearts. On the journey, there will be cancer survivors and people who have lost their brothers, sisters and parents to cancer.

“I have got the defective gene, meaning there is a 50 per cent chance that I could have passed cancer on to my children, and I have lost my mum and recently my niece Zoe who was only 40 years old, so this year the ride will be in memory of her.

“I took a bike out of a junk heap and will be using that. We all use abandoned bikes found in barns and sheds. Bikes for less than £300 are very hard to find, so we have to make modifications to them.

"This is a serious endurance challenge on marginal motorcycles, which have to be kept running. I'm doing it to try and raise funds for an organisation that has seen its fundraising proceeds plummet during the last year due to the Covid pandemic, so we need to ensure there is no halt to the vital research activity carried out by Cancer Research.

"The charity has made great inroads into the understanding and treatment of cancer over the last 40 years, increasing survival rates significantly, so all donations will be making a real difference."

Starting at 4 am on Monday, the riders set off from Lands End and will only ride on A and B roads until they reach John O'Groats, more than 1,000 miles away.

Jim had first found a love for bikes as a young teenager and had always dreamt of owning a bike of his own, but had never been allowed as his parents ‘absolutely hated them’.

He had lost a neighbour and his cousin to a motorbike crash in the 1960s and didn’t buy his first bike until he was 40 years old.

Since then, he has collected 14 superbikes and often modifies scrapped bikes from his Chorley home.

He added: “I didn’t get my own bike until I was in my 40’s after I swapped a van for a bike and just loved it. I have built up my own collection and now possibly have the biggest superbike collection in Lancashire.

"All donations will be welcome and will make a huge difference to people and their families suffering from cancer. If it can help just one person, it was all worth it."

Donations can be made at the fundraising page HERE, with more information about the challenge available from its website.

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