A motorcycle-fanatic was pushed to his physical and mental limits after taking on a monster 933-mile challenge – riding the length of Great Britain on a tiny copy of the Honda Z50 ‘Monkey’ bike.
Steve Clay rode from Land’s End to John O’Groats in memory of his baby nephew and raised more than £2,500 for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
It proved a major challenge, as the seat on his rare Honda Monkey copy bike was just 775mm from the ground. Overall, it stands 2.5ft tall.
He decided to do something ‘out there’ as a way of thanking EACH, which provided end-of-life care for nephew Parker, as well as supporting his sister, Sam, and her husband, Kyle.
Parker had Edwards’ syndrome, a rare and incurable genetic condition, and died nearly a month to the day after being born on 12th March 2024.
“To say it was gruelling would be an understatement,” said 6ft 1in Steve, who was joined on the mission by friends Carl Prior and Terry Chambers, riding iconic Honda CT90s from the 1970s. The trio were accompanied by support driver Steve Francis.
“It was a massive test of endurance, and I say that as a motorbike fanatic who loves long journeys.
“However, this was far more extreme than I could ever have imagined. I always knew it would be difficult but underestimated how tough it would be.
“The first day wasn’t too bad, covering roughly 265 miles, but we had technical problems on day two. Having left the Malvern Hills at 7am, we ended up doing extra miles to make up the lost time and arrived just outside Falkirk at 11pm. In total, we did 365 miles that day.
“After 16 hours in the saddle, I don’t think I’d have been any less comfortable sitting on a porcupine.
“I was willing the traffic lights to turn red, just so I could stand up and stretch my legs, and, by the end of day two, I was close to breaking point.
“Emotions were running high, and I couldn’t have done many more miles. Another five would probably have been my limit, and I’m so grateful to the guys for keeping me going. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Although Parker died at home, he and his family received end-of-life care and support from EACH at The Treehouse (EACH’s hospice in Ipswich).
Steve, from Leiston, said he was motivated by the memories of his nephew and attached a picture of him to his army backpack, as well as the EACH logo.
“It was emotional on so many levels and felt good to give something back,” said the self-employed heating engineer, who bought the bike – a modern copy of a Honda Z50 – for £800 in February.
“Although it was undoubtedly hard, I was never going to quit and was prepared to do whatever it took, because of the fact we were raising money for EACH and riding in Parker’s memory.
“He was in my thoughts throughout and fundraising missions like this are part of his legacy.
“We can’t do anything to bring him back, but we can try and help other families going through something like us.
“I’m immensely proud of the amount we raised and proud of what we achieved. In all honesty, I’m not sure how we did it.
“Amazingly, the bike held up well. It’s only designed for a quick trip to the shops – not travelling nearly 950 miles.
“I always said I wanted to do something a bit different and quirky and think I can safely say I achieved that!”
Steve, Carl and Terry left on 28th May and arrived two days later on the 30th – coincidentally Steve’s 43rd birthday. He called the challenge ‘The Slow Way Up’.
He is already planning his next quirky fundraiser and next year hopes to drive a modified Robin Reliant car to Morocco.
Steve’s fundraising page is still open, and you can show your support and sponsor him by heading here.
