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Quartet of Inverness moped enthusiasts scoot over Highlands from the city to the Isle of Skye and back again and have so far raised more than £3500 for Prostate Scotland – their vintage scooters were a 1984 Tomos, a 1990 Tomos Golden Bullet, 1977 Mobylette 40V and a 1973 Honda PC50 with a combined age of 160 years


By Ian Duncan

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During the fundraising ride.
During the fundraising ride.

A team of moped enthusiasts and their support driver have raised more than £3500 for a cancer charity by completing a scenic ride around the Highlands.

The Dream Tour was a Top Gear-style challenge which began and finished in Inverness over the course of three days, taking in the Isle of Skye before returning to the Highland capital.

The chosen mode of transport for the road trip was a bunch of scooters with a combined age of 160 years – a 1984 Tomos, a 1990 Tomos Golden Bullet, 1977 Mobylette 40V and a 1973 Honda PC50 – all powered by engines of 50cc or less.

The four friends – Ed Fraser, Alasdair MacDonald, Kenny MacDonald and Kevin Kilgour – are all from Inverness and faced an eventful journey together with van driver Martin Dyer who was there to provide any support required during the trip.

During the fundraising ride.
During the fundraising ride.

Mr Kilgour said it had been an amazing experience and added: “The weather was warm, the bikes mostly performed well and a good laugh was had along the way.

“We only had one bike casualty during the event at the end of the first day when the French engineering on the Mobylette decided Highland roads were too much and it snapped its drive chain approximately seven miles from our day one stopover at Glenelg.

“Luckily our support driver Martin was on hand and we loaded into the back of the van and I got chauffeur-driven to the beers at the end of the road.

“Fortunately, a very kind patron and local of the bar had a chain link that we managed to bodge into fixing and onward we continued on day two.”

The second day started with a wonderful ride on the Glenelg ferry and, when they landed on the Isle of Skye, the friends were greeted by a friendly blue light reception.

Mr Kilgour said: “This set us up nicely for the steep climbs that were in store that day as we made tracks to The Old Man of Storr. Unfortunately, because of the time it took to repair the Moby and taking it a bit easier along the way, we were unable to complete the trek.

“We then made haste back to Portree for a lap around the square then onto our camping digs for the night near Kyle of Lochalsh.”

There was an early 5am start on the third day with another mechanical breakdown near Dores. Mr Kilgour said that, despite the setback, they all made it to Inverness and a welcome back party, only an hour later than expected and still smiling.

“All the bikes made it back and Old Blue, ridden by Ed Fraser, although the slowest on the majority of the hill climbs definitely won the ‘mechanically steady’ title, having required no tinkering along the way,” he said.

“Red Lightning, ridden by Kenny MacDonald, a 1973 Honda PC50 was surprisingly nippy, just as the song says it is.

“The Golden Bullet chugged along really without incident, other than a slight fuelling issue which was quickly rectified by Ali MacDonald at the roadside.”

So far they have raised more than £3580 in aid of Prostate Scotland.

• To make a donation visit here.


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