A British man has raised more than £21,000 ($40,000) for cancer research by travelling across the UK on a moped to visit its “silliest and rudest named places”.
Paul Taylor kicked off his 30,000-kilometre “Moronic Moped Marathon” on 18 August from Shitterton in Dorset to Bell End, Worcestershire, in memory of his friend Alexis Leventis who died of cancer, according to his crowdfunding page.
The journey took Taylor through places such as Happy Bottom Nature Reserve, Ass Hill, Crazies Hill, Pishill, The Knob, Titty-Ho, Willey, Butthole Lane, Pensitone, Netherthong, Slack Bottom Road, Bedlam, Crackpot, Booze, Pity Me, Cocksburnspath, Wallyford and Brawl, just to name a few.
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His “chosen steed” was a Slovenian Tomos XL45 Classic, with a top speed of 45kmph.
“Will it make it up Scotland’s steepest slopes? Will it make the 1,800-mile journey at all?” he said on the website.
As it turns out, the answer to the latter question was no.
Taylor broke down on 25 August after reaching Twatt in Orkney, and had to finish the last three days of his challenge via hire car, according to BBC News.
When he finished the challenge, Taylor told BBC News he was excited to return home and see his wife and dogs.
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“When you have a mission or purpose you keep going… and then when you stop you realise how tired you are,” he said.
“I’m tired and happy and reflective on what happened and how crazy it all was. Obviously, this is a different period of my life that will probably never be repeated again.
“Everything goes back to normal now, it’s obviously quite a mad time.”
At last count, Taylor has raised £21,539 ($40,619) for the Institute of Cancer Research, going well above his goal of £1,800 ($3,395).
Featured image source: Instagram/moronicmopedmarathon
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