A hardy Dunning man is braving saddle sores and typical British spring weather to complete a mammoth cycling trip for charity.
Allan Crow will cover hundreds of miles as he travels through Scotland, England and Wales during his two-month expedition.
There will be no home comforts for the fund-raiser, as he will be trying to keep costs as low as possible by roughing it in a tent.
However, this will be no hardship for Allan, as he has been preparing for this journey for the last 10 years.
“This is just something I’ve always wanted to do,” he told The Courier.
“I wanted to cycle around Britain and thought that if I was going to do it, it might as well be for a purpose.”OutlandishThe 45-year-old is no stranger to undertaking quirky tasks in the name of fund-raising, as he and his friends have already raised around £30,000 for various causes over the past 18 years through outlandish schemes.
Last year they completed a 150-mile trek wearing banana costumes and, while he will not be sporting any yellow get-up this time round, Allan has packed a Fred Flintstone outfit.
He also hopes to rope in one of his friends to dress up as Barney Rubble when he joins him for his stint through the north of Scotland.
The first leg of his journey, which began on Saturday, took him to the East Neuk of Fife and from there he will be heading down the coast to England.
Despite being a “weel-kent” face in the local area, Allan admitted that he encountered several difficulties in getting donations.Raise moneyHe said, “I started trying to raise money back in December and I have had a very hard job getting sponsorship.
“I’ve tried some of the local supermarkets to try and get meals to take with me and they have more or less turned me down.
“They just seem to be trying to keep their fund-raising in-store.
“People in the village have been kind enough to donate £100, which will go towards my accommodation costs.
“There’s also been £900 donated directly to the charities, which is really good.”
Allan’s employer, Strathearn Engineering, has generously sponsored him the time off to raise £10,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, British Heart Foundation, NSPCC and the Spinal Injury charity.
He has been training vigorously by cycling several miles to work every day come wind, rain or shine, as well as taking to his exercise bike every day.
To support Allan visit his website at www.justgiving.com/allan-crow.