Exmouth: Local man to do sponsored vintage motorbike ride for Hospiscare

A local man is set to ride in a relay of 500 miles on vintage motorcycles this weekend in memory of his wife who passed away last year and to raise money for Hospiscare.

Tony Bennett decided to do the sponsored ride after Hospiscare nurses provided his late wife Jenny with the 'absolute best care and consideration for her condition'.

Tony said: "The nurses involved with the hospice are angels in uniform, and nothing was too much trouble for them.

"They even turned up in their own time to make sure she was comfortable.

"With this in mind we feel like we wanted to give something back to them, so they can continue their great work."

Tony, together with his son Pete and friend Andy will ride 500 miles between them in a relay - with another friend Shaun riding behind in case one of the bikes breaks down.

Starting at 7am on Saturday morning (26 June), their route will take them through Axmouth, Exeter, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Torquay, Paignton, Bideford, and Ilfracombe, after which they'll stop for a break at Withypool on Exmoor.

Tony said: "My wife was born on Exmoor not far from Withypool, and there's a tearoom there where we hope to settle down after all that excitement and have a tea."

After that, they'll head back down through Tiverton and Exeter to Exmouth - then do the same route all over again the following day, hopefully reaching their target of 500 miles.

They will take four vintage motorcycles with them: a 1950 BSA Bantam 150cc, a 1964 AJS Model 14 250cc, a 1958 Triumph Cub 200cc, and a 40-year-old Honda CX500 as a backup.

Tony added: "I've always been into vintage bikes, it's just one of those things.

"Anyone can do 500 miles on a modern bike, but doing it on a vintage bike is a bit of a challenge.

"It's over unknown ground - these bikes, we've had them for a year, but we haven't been able to test their real ability."

Tony, Pete, and Andy will take turns riding one at a time while the other two drive a truck. Shaun will be at the rear, remaining in contact just in case one of the bikes breaks down.

Tony said: "Each bike will do 50 miles, which is about as much as you can expect, then we'll change over to another one and so on."

The ride was originally due to take place on the weekend of 27-28 June last year, but had to be postponed due to the pandemic.

Tony continued: "The postponing was the worst bit, but in many ways it was a blessing in disguise because we've had extra time to raise funds."

Tony has raised as much as £2,092 so far for Hospiscare, with a target of £2,500.

If you would like to donate, please click here to go to his JustGiving page.