Mull to Hull: Meet the East Yorkshire farmers and old rugby mates cycling 420 miles for charity

Billy said the group that choose their normally regular meetings around which hostelries they prefer, which currently include The Goodmanham Arms near Market Weighton and the pubs of Hull’s Old Town, love their respective significant others but have always sought to find times when they can unwind together.

“We have to think of a trip away that sounds uncomfortable enough that our partners don’t want to come. At least that’s how our previous ones of a Coast-to-Coast cycle, Three Peaks walk and skiffing on the Thames had come about in our younger days, but this latest effort eight years on from our last, that took place last month has been our biggest and for the first time we did it for charity, raising funds for Cancer Research, MacMillan Cancer Support and FCN (Farming Community Network).

“Not that I knew too much about it when the lads had decided it, because at the time I was not in any fit state. I could barely talk in January. I was taking my food in from a tube into my stomach at this point. I’d had a lump in my throat in April 2021 but, like a typical bloke, didn’t get it checked out straight away.

“It was cancer of the tonsil. By the time I’d been checked out properly I’d developed stage 3 cancer that had spread to the nose. I ended up having surgery in September where I had my tonsil out and some of my top pallet which caused great entertainment afterwards as I found I could inadvertently squeeze tea out of my nose when I coughed."

Billy makes light of his personal situation and said that even the nurses had picked up on it.

“One nurse said I seemed to have an unusual approach to life and in my own way I had been expecting something bad to happen somewhere along the way, but I’ve always known things happen to all of us, both good and bad.

“My wife Joanna was expecting our fourth child and as I was going in for surgery she had the first scan of our baby. It was a rare old time, but we made plans. I also ended up having 15 nodes taken out of my neck and then had 30 courses of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in November and December last year. By the end I was fairly fried. I’m now in remission."

Farmer Eddie Rook of Weighton Wold Farm, one of the group said the motivation for Mull to Hull came as much from the desire to do something for charity, as well also bringing the band back together.

“Everyone has had some connection to this awful disease. Another of our group, Guy Shelby, had seen his sister-in-law Zoe Rawson go into Castle Hill with breast cancer at the same time as Billy. Fortunately, both Zoe and Billy are recovering but it brought it home to all of us that things are suddenly closer to home than they were.

“Others of our group have lost loved ones to cancer and my dad’s had a scare this past year and I’ve lost grandparents and friends.

“Seeing what these guys were going through urged us on to get our fingers out and do something and that’s how Mull to Hull began to take shape. We thought the title sounded good and we began planning.

“Our challenge was nowhere near as big as the challenges faced by Zoe and Billy but thinking about their battles kept us motivated the whole 420 miles."

Having decided on the route a ‘test drive’ was decided upon of Whitby to Goodmanham to check the logistic requirements.

Billy wasn’t up to the cycling post-op, not that the others had intended him to be, as Eddie said but he would run the van along with two others as support crew to the seven cyclists.

“We made the decisions over what we were going to do while Billy was incapacitated, but also what he was going to do and how he was going to play his part."

Billy said that the lessons learned from that first run were invaluable.

“We had borrowed a trailer to go on to a pickup but we knew pretty soon that we would need a big box van, which would store the bikes, stoves for feeding at the sides of roads and all other equipment. My company Agrii loaned a van.

“Our only cock-up as the support crew was finding out at the first stop that we’d only gone and purchased sparkling water instead of stilled. It made the coffee and tea a bit lively!"

Amazingly, Billy managed to cycle a fairly big stint one day too, taking over from one of the riders.

“I took my turn one afternoon and the following morning and realised even more just what these guys had taken on. It was pretty impressive stuff from seven middle aged guys on heavy bikes who aren’t exactly all built like whippets.

“Three of the seven that started pedalled every single mile in the five days – Tom Watson, Guy and David Selby – and Eddie did all but 57 miles when he had to take time out having pulled his Achilles tendon."

Billy said the total raised so far, that is still being added to, now stands at over £19,000. If you would like to contribute visit: www.justgiving.com/team/Mull2Hull