Classic Scooterist – July-August 2019

RAISING MONEY FOR GOOD CAUSES

Five counties charity ride

TwoLiverpudlianscooteristsrecentlycompleteda 450 - milecharityride,coveringfive

Irishcountiesandraisingover£ 2 , 000 forcharity

M

ickDeeandJoeMcDonaldare

nostrangerstofundraising.

Overthelastsixyearsthey’ve

undertakenvariouscharityeventswith

friends.Todate,they’veraisedover

£ 17 , 000 fortheSpecializedProject(www.

specializedproject.co.uk)supportingtheir

chosencharity,theTeenageCancerTrust,

amongstothers.Theirlatestadventuresaw

themtravellingthroughfiveIrishcounties.

Heretheytellyouabouttheiradventures

(we’vehadtoabbreviateitduetospace,but

hopethatdoesn’tspoilyourreading).

BELFAST-DERRY

AfteraquietferrytriptoBelfast(kindly

sponsoredbytheVicPubinOldSkem)and

ameetwithBirminghamscooterists,we

startedthefirstlegofourjourney.

AfteraquickmeetwithJoe'sfriend,

MaxineMcGladeandherdogPearl,Max

donatedtoourcauseandweleftforLarne

tomeetPaulDowling.PaulhailsfromSkem,

buthassettledinLarne.He’dcollected

£ 110 forourcause.Actsofgenerositylike

thisreallymakeyoufeelproudofwhat

you’retryingtoachieve.

AfterleavingPaul,werodetheAntrim

coasttowardsPortrush.Thiscoastalroute

takesyourbreathaway.It'ssobeautiful

it'shardtofocusondriving.We’dbeen

contactedpreviouslybytheNorthern

CoastersSCtomeet/sharepartofthe

journey.UnfortunatelyIgotmywires

crossed,butafteracoupleofattempts,we

finallymetinPortrush.Theguys(RodGillan,

IanHedges,FrankieMitchellandMartin

Laverty)providedfoodanddrink,andwe

chewedthefatovervarioussubjectsbefore

touringaroundthelocalarea–what

abeautifultown.

Onthewaytomeetthem,Joe'sexhaust

desperatelyneededpatchingup.The

Portrushladscontactedafriend,aptlycalled

‘Doc’,whorepairedthescooterfreeof

charge,reinforcingthebeliefthattheIrish

areamongstthenicestpeopleintheworld.

RodGillanandFrankieMitchellescorted

ustotheferryoverLochFoyleandweset

sailwithalastingimpressionoffriendship

andkindness.Disembarking,wemadeour

waytoMoville,stoppingforapintofthe

smoothestGuinnessimaginable.Wethen

setofftoDerrytoastayatab&b,hostedby

localguy,Joe.Onarrival,wefoundourselves

inatwo-bedcottagewithabloodylakein

thegarden.“Ifyouwanttotakeaboatout,

you’remorethanwelcome,”saidJoe.

DERRY-BOYLE

Itwas 110 milestoBoyleandaswesetoff

theheavensopenedandIcouldseeevery

animalandbirdrunningforcoverfromthe

soundofJoe’sexhaust–likeRambowitha

sub-machinegun.

ArrivingatthehouseoffriendsRoy

BuckbyandAngelaParr,thewarmthofareal

firewaswelcome.Royhadbeerswaitingand

Angiehadcookedalasagne,wedgesgalore

plusasaladandgarlicbread.

Afterwardswewenttoafewlocalpubs

andendedupenjoyinga‘Singalongwith

Angie’competition.Wewereshattered

by 2 am,butthelocalswereonlyjust

gettinggoing.ThepeopleofBoyleareas

friendlyandwelcomingaseveryother

placewevisited.

Thefollowingmorningwehadafull

Irishbeforetouringlocalsights,themost

impressivebeingahugesculptureofa

CelticChieftain.WealsovisitedRockingham

House,anoldruinthatthelocaleliteowned

manymoonsago,butnowownedbythe

equivalentoftheUK'sNationalTrust.

Adventurers and charity fund-raisers,

Mick Dee and Joe McDonald

Doc repairs Joe’s exhaust

With Paul Dowling in Larne

Meeting with Northern Coasters

SC members in Portrush

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