A CANCER survivor has completed an epic 4,400-mile charity cycle ride around Britain’s coastline.

But Clitheroe estate agent Bill Honeywell has vowed that he won’t shave off the beard he grew while pedalling until he reaches his £20,000 fundraising target — even though his wife hates it!

Bill was in the saddle for 69 days from May 10 to July 20 — taking only a short break to attend his nephew’s wedding.

But the 58-year-old is almost £3,000 short of the total he wants to collect for Cancer Research UK.

And he has vowed that until he achieves it his beard will not be coming off – much to the displeasure of his wife Val.

Bill said: “My wife hates me having a beard.

“After the wedding I didn’t have a shave.

“ I had this idea in the final week, not to annoy her but as an incentive. I said ‘the beard is not coming off until I get to £20,000’.

“The money is still coming in, but I think Val would like it to come in faster.”

Bill wanted to support Cancer Research UK to say thank you for the help he received when he beat testicular and bowel cancer, and in memory of his friend Margaret Watkins, who died from breast cancer two-and-a-half years ago.

Val, Bill’s brother and a group of close friends took it in turns over the 10 weeks to accompany the cyclist on his marathon in a motorhome.

His challenge took him up a climb of 2,200 metres during the leg from Fishguard to Aberystwyth in Wales, “like climbing Snowden twice” and “around the same distance from Cairo to Cape Town”.

He said: “In Scotland the weather was just horrendous, we had 100-mile an hour gusts of wind so you couldn’t stay on the bike.

“The weather blew a tree on top of the motorhome. How the vehicle survived I’ve no idea, we just had a broken windscreen.

“It took a lot of planning. Everybody who helped was fantastic.”

The father-of-two blogged and Tweeted about his experiences during his journey.

And his efforts even drew praise from a celebrated adventurer, who commented on his ‘gruelling challenge’.

Bill said: “I had an endorsement from Sir Ranulph Fiennes, a hero of mine, which means a lot to me.”

Bill’s current fundraising total stands at £17,060.

You can donate by visiting www.justgiving.com/Bill-Honeywell

Bill’s marathon ride

  • Bill began his journey by travelling the 92 miles from Clitheroe Castle to Silverdale.
  • He reached Oban in Scotland on day 10, returning by train for his nephew Chris Breckell’s wedding in Lancashire.
  • In Scotland 100 mph winds brought a tree crashing down on his motorhome on the way to Mull.
  • Bill covered 83 miles on his final day across the Wirral and back to Clitheroe – taking his tally to 4,440 miles