ONE of the region’s most successful stand-up comedians was among 300 motorcyclists that revved into the region yesterday to promote the work of a charity.
Ross Noble invited hundreds of his Twitter followers to join him as he came to the end of his ‘sit-down tour’ of the UK – clocking up around 1,200 miles in aid of Riders for Health.
The charity ensures medics have transport to reach people desperately in need of healthcare in Africa. The 34-year-old funnyman’s 200-mile-a-day journey has taken him from Cambridge to South Wales to Chester, the Lake District, Edinburgh and back to Tyneside – finishing at Triumph North East bike shop in Byker.
He updated his 130,000 Twitter faithful along the way.
Ross said: “It has been awesome. It has been such a laugh.”
The much-loved comic, from Cramlington, Northumberland, was riding Triumph’s one-off 500,000th Speed Triple bike finished with a special red, white and blue paint job by the manufacturer.
Supporters hope it will fetch more than £25,000 when it is auctioned at Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex on July 1.
Ross logged a video diary of his adventure, which took him to Britain’s smallest pub – the Nutshell in Bury St Edmunds – and a street devoted to the wild west at Edinburgh’s Morningside.
He said: “People followed me on Twitter and told me what to do and places to see. I want to show people how great riding a bike is and doing this tour on Twitter meant the contact you get with other riders when you’re out and about was extended to the non-bike-riding fraternity.
“It has been a great British adventure on a great British bike governed by the great British public. It was great.”
He appealed for people to dig deep at the auction.
“Hopefully the ride will spread the word about the bike itself and if we can double or treble its value at auction then that would be amazing,” he said.
“The great thing about Riders For Health is that bikes are a really effective way of getting health care to people in Africa.
“We are trying to show that while it is a laugh to take a bike on holiday in places like Africa it is also a form of transport which can save lives.”
For more information on the charity visit: www.riders.org
