Bike for funds

Getting on his

A student wanted to stretch himself to the limit ... and all because he loved a challenge for charity.

The athletic Ronnie Yule planned to cycle from his home to Largs, swim across the icy waters of the Clyde to Cumbrae, jog around the tiny holiday island, then make the return trek.

“I hope to do all that in one day and, at the same time, raise £5,000 for Leukaemia Research,”said a highly confident Ronnie.

The gruelling trip, he said, was about 180 miles.

He added: “I’m quite good at cycling, swimming, and jogging, so I should manage the challenge I’ve set myself.”

The 22-year-old student at Paisley’s Reid Kerr College said :“I would like a local company to sponsor me.

“If they can help me raise funds, I’ll make sure the firm’s name is splashed in the newspapers and TV.”

Ronnie, from Spateston, in Johnstone, was no stranger to charity feats.

The previous year, he said he collected about £300 through sponsorship on behalf of Cancer Research after cycling more than 200 miles from Paisley to Oban and back.

He recalled:“That was hard work because of the terrible weather ... it lashed with rain, winds were gale force and it was freezing.”

But this time he was looking for fairer weather.

“I expect to be setting off at about six o’clock one morning in June.”

And what about training for the big event?

“All that has begun now,” he said.

“I had my last half pint of lager the other day.

“I’ve got a cycle roller at home, so I’ll be building up my strength on that ,plus other apparatus,”

His main reason for taking on challenging charity work is because two members of his family died some years ago of cancer and he said he just wants to help people.