Travelling from Scotland to Spain for most people is a couple of hours on a plane.
But 62-year-old former Stirling man Kenneth McKeown is doing it the hard way – on a bike.
Kenneth, formerly of Cultenhove Road in St Ninians, is part of a group of 30 cyclists intending to cycle over 1000 miles from Glasgow to Seville for charity.
Kenneth moved from Stirling to Dundee 30 years ago, working first as a teacher and then as Quality Improvement Officer for Dundee City Council’s Education Department.
He has now retired although he spends time doing some part-time work for The Wood Foundation, visiting his son and family in Italy, keeping fit by cycling and supporting Celtic.
It is, in fact, the last of these that has instigated this marathon cycle.
The group is cycling to raise funds for Celtic FC Foundation, the charitable arm of Celtic Football Club.
Kenneth said: “I’m not getting any younger and around 10 years ago I found I was taking much longer to recover from half marathons and marathons – so I decided to take up cycling as a way to continue to keep fit without the impact.
“Celtic FC was founded by Brother Walfrid, a Marist Brother based in the east end of Glasgow, in 1887.
“The purpose of the club was to raise funds to feed the poor who, in the main, were Irish immigrants escaping from the Great Hunger in Ireland in the mid 1800s.
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“Walfrid was appalled at the conditions the people were living in and decided that he had to do something to feed the people and alleviate their poverty.”
Celtic FC Foundation continues to fulfil his legacy today. It supports those in need in Scotland, England, Ireland, the United States, Asia and Africa.
Kenneth added: “It is a sad indictment on our society that 136 years after Brother Walfrid tried to alleviate poverty in the east end of Glasgow that people the length and breadth the country have to use foodbanks to ensure that they and their children don’t go hungry.
“Poverty is not a lifestyle choice but the lived experience of some of our friends and families.”
Kenneth has completed a number of events over the years for various charities from marathons to hiking to Machu Picchu but somehow this one feels much closer to home for him.
Growing up in St Ninians he says he doesn’t remember thinking that he was poor but his mum, Grace, who has just turned 90, tells him that when she got his dad’s
wage packet on a Friday it was usually gone by the Tuesday.
He does remember, though, getting sent to the local grocer for bread or milk. It wasn’t until years later he realised that, as he didn’t hand over any money, his name went ‘into the book’.
Kenneth explained that Seville was the final destination for the cyclists because “on May 21 it will be 20 years since Celtic played FC Porto in the final of the UEFA Cup”.
“Although Celtic lost in extra-time,” said Kenneth, “the whole experience of getting to that stage, beating two top English sides, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers, and the party atmosphere in Seville still resonates with Celtic supporters.
“The anniversary seemed like a good hook to hang a fundraising hat on.”
The route will take the cyclists from Celtic Park, on May 6, to Cairnryan where they will board the ferry to Belfast. Three days cycling through Ireland including over the Kerry Mountains sees the group arrive in Rosslare.
From there they catch ferry to Bilbao and then cycle through Spain over two mountain ranges and 12,000m of elevation to Seville.
The group arrives in Seville on May 19 in time for the 20th anniversary.
Training has been quite tricky over the winter with many sessions having to take place on the static bike in his garage.
It is only now as the weather begins to improve that Kenneth has been getting in some longer sessions on the road.
He thinks that he will manage to complete the whole route – but is under no illusions as to how difficult it will be.
As the event draws nearer and, although it will be a tough physical test, Kenneth finds himself looking forward to it, particularly cycling through Spain where sunshine and blue skies will, hopefully, be the predominant weather features instead of the Scottish wind and rain.
The group hopes to raise £100,000 to support the work of Celtic FC Foundation. This work not only supports those in need, whether that be by providing food, donating gifts for children at Christmas, providing fuel vouchers but also includes educational programmes to support people to find their way back into the workplace and give them a sense of ambition, aspiration and self-worth.
More information on the work of Celtic FC Foundation can be found at https://charity.celticfc.com.
For further information on the cycle see https://road2seville23.co.uk/ or follow the group’s exploits on twitter @Road2Seville23.
To donate to Kenneth’s fundraising effort head to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kennymckeown.
Any donation small or large will be gratefully accepted.
