Terrific trio set off on their 10,000 cycle trip in aid of heart research

 

* The Westheads - Dyfan, Louis and James - about to set off on their epic bike ride Thailand.

To the cheers of an army of family and friends three lads from the area have set off on a marathon bike to ride across the world to raise cash for the British Heart Foundation.

Friends Dyfan Hughes, 17, from Llangollen, Louis Dennis, 18, from Garth, and James Thomas,18, from Wrexham aim to cycle the 10,000 miles to Thailand in memory of Tony Edge, the father of a friend who died following a heart attack six months ago.

The intrepid trio, calling themselves the Westheads, pedalled away from Lllangollen Football Club's HQ this morning (Saturday) at the very start of a mammoth ride which they reckon will take them at least 18 months to complete. 

On hand to wish them bon voyage were around 50 relatives, Friends and well-wishers.  

* ... and they're off from the football club field bound for Europe and then Asia.

According to Dyfan, their first overnight stop - under canvas - will be at Newport in Shropshire and then it's on across England to Harwich where they'll take the North Sea ferry to the Hook of Holland.

From there the plan is to cycle across Belgium and Germany with the aim of following the course of the Danube river down to Turkey, where in Instanbul they should be able to cross the mighty Bospherus ready to depart on the next leg of their adventure.  

But they admit the trip will be something of a challenge as none of them has ever ridden a bike "further than the shop down the road".

In a joint statement they say: "We are three Welsh lads with a dream to travel the world.

"So we thought what better way than to cycle to Thailand? The only problem is none of us have ever really ridden a bike further than the shop down the road.

"The reason we are cycling to Thailand is because our good friend has been living out in Thailand for the past six months, shortly after his Dad sadly passed away from a heart attack, so we have decided to cycle to Thailand, raising money for the British Heart Foundation in memory of him.

* Time for a final good luck handshake with a friend in the crowd.

"Where does the go fund me money go? This will go to help cover basic costs of the trip - bikes, gears, visas, food, repairs. We are funding most of it ourselves, but with your help we can go further, safer, and share more along the way.

"We have a separate donation page for the British Heart Foundation and any donations will be much appreciated.

"Think of this as backing three idiots on a mission. We will be sharing every pedal, every flat tyre, every breakdown, on social media and using the platform we build to point people to BHF and encourage donations directly.

"Can they actually do it? There's only one way to find out. Follow along and if you could spare a few quid to help us keep pedalling we would be forever grateful."

* Here's a link to the Westheads' socials on which you can follow their epic journey and make a donation if you wish: https://linktr.ee/westheads