A KEEN amateur cyclist and fundraising hero has tackled the John Muir Way to raise money for his friend’s campaign.

William Turner undertook the 107-mile journey from Helensburgh to Dunbar on August 3 and successfully completed the cycle in about 12 hours, despite several setbacks along the way.

This is the latest in a number of fundraising endurance events which William has undertaken to raise money for Johnnie’s Journey, founded by his friend Johnnie Meechan in 2016.

Johnnie, 46, started the charity after being diagnosed with a rare terminal cancer called a neuroendocrine tumour, commonly known as NET cancer.

Since diagnosis, he has been working to raise awareness of the illness alongside battling his own health issues.

William began the journey from Helensburgh Central Station at 8am, accompanied by friends Mick Woods and Euan Daly from Musselburgh Road Cycling Club.

The route was blocked at two points, one of which was due to a fallen tree on the lead-up to Falkirk which forced the cyclists to make detours – adding an extra 20 miles and bringing their total distance to 127 miles.

A mechanical issue also held up the riders' progress, with the three dedicated cyclists finishing at John Muir’s Birthplace in Dunbar at about 8pm, 12 hours after they set off.

William said in a Facebook post after completing the challenge: “Thanks so much for all the support for the cycle.

“We are all truly blown away by the response to it as always and will help who and where we can through your generosity.

“Yesterday was a brilliant day out but tough physically, as well as with the various things going wrong.

The cyclists were held up by blockages on the route and an issue with gears on one of the bikes  (Image: Contributed)

“Being the legends the other two are, it was just dealt with and we cracked on.

“The scenery was incredible at points and it reminds you what a brilliant place we live in.”

Despite the tough physical challenge, William didn’t sit around for long.

Johnnie said: “He told me he was going to take it easy… and then he was back out cycling the next day!”

A target of £2,000 was set on the GoFundMe page, which was surpassed two days before the cycle.

READ MORE: Johnnie's Journey makes massive donation to East Lothian Foodbank

Since his diagnosis eight years ago, Johnnie has been tackling a number of health scares and complications.

He said: “This year has been filled with a series of health struggles.

“I was pretty much floored for the best part of two and a half months, and I never really got any diagnosis until the back end of it.

"It looked like a series of infections, maybe four, but I had pneumonia in that time as well.

“And then finally I was told I had whooping cough. That was grim - I’ve never coughed like that in my life.

“I’ve had Covid, that was bad enough, but this was something else. I tore muscles in my sternum, my side – it was awful.

“I’m still going through scans and tests and x-rays to keep on top of everything, because there was damage to one of my lungs.

“That’s the immediate priority.

“I’ll be due for scans for my six-monthly review and that will tell me how the cancer is progressing and hopefully not metastasising, but we’ll wait and find out.

“I’m at the stage now where, if I get two months without some illness, then I’m doing quite well.”

William’s mum passed away less than a month before the cycle due to complications with a bone infection coupled with dementia, and Johnnie is amazed by his friend’s grit.

He said: “Honestly I didn’t think he’d go ahead with it once I found out, I just assumed that we would delay things.

“But he was absolutely adamant that he wanted to continue. He prepared for it and he wanted to see it through.

“It’s really just a testament to William and to who he is. There is a lot of drive.”

Johnnie hopes that William’s cycle and other fundraising events throughout the year can continue raising awareness of NET cancer.

He said: “There’s a hell of a lot of people who don’t know what NET cancer is – it just isn’t spoken about enough.

“Other cancers are very localised but NET can grow in so many places.

“It makes it really difficult with diagnosis – people don’t know the symptoms.”

Symptoms depend on the location of the tumour and whether it produces excess hormones, but signs to look out for include pain from a growing tumour, a growing lump felt under the skin, feeling unusually tired and losing weight without trying.

Even after tackling 127 miles, this is not the end for William’s cycling adventures.

Johnnie said: “Before he even started on the John Muir Way, he was thinking about what challenge he could do next year!”

Donations to Johnnie’s Journey in support of William’s recent cycle can be made online at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jjrccjmuir