Rivals in business, but partners on pedals, cruise agents Phil Nuttall of The Cruise Village and James Cole of Cruise 118 have embarked on an Epic journey.
The pair left Manchester Airport on Friday, 250 miles ahead of them between the start point and their destination in Southampton.
There they will meet Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest and largest ever ship, the Norwegian Epic as it starts a two day inaugural sailing ahead of the UK Cruise Convention when it will be one of six ships inviting delegates onboard.
Phil and James are both cycling for different charities. Phil hopes to raise £3,000 for a sustainable charity based in Tanzania (click on the link to sponsor Phil) which support people in a small village called Buigiri.
James has targeted raising £5,000 for a charity closer to home; the Derian House children’s hospice (click on the link to sponsor James).
Both admitted to Travel weekly that their cycling experience is somewhat limited, but they mapped out a route down the eastern side of England and hope to do around 50-60 miles a day over five days.
Phil, who has had acupuncture on a knee to prepare him for the journey, said has been forced to travel during training away from his native Blackpool to find some hills to practice on, the Fylde Coast being famously flat.
“James is a fairly fit guy, but neither of us are cyclists, we are doing a sport we have never done before,” Phil said.
“It won’t be easy but we are both extremely passionate about the causes we are cycling for and we are both very competitive and I bet my bottom dollar James will want to be at the finish line before me.
“Seriously, we are competitive in business but we are doing it as a team and we are good friends outside of business. It’s a challenge and we are going to treat it as an adventure.”
Phil and James haven’t booked overnight accommodation, planning instead to find a friendly B&B each night when they’ve had enough time in the saddle.
They are being supported by one of Phil’s friends from Blackpool, a man known only at “Ketchup Tony” because “he has a habit of spraying people with tomato ketchup”.
Speaking to Travel Weekly ahead of the challenge James’ preparation appeared to be a little more basic than Phil’s.
He said: “It’s really exciting – I haven’t been on a bike since I was 13. The furthest I’ve ever cycled was about 20 miles, and that was on a Grifter back in 1983.
“I have now purchased a bike, so that’s a major step forward. We are just looking forward to it, we are very nervous,” he said.
Asked about how competitive he intended to be he added: “There’s no ‘i’ in team.”
Both Phil and James were expecting NCL to lay on a spell in Epic’s spa after they arrive at journey’s end this week to help soothe aching muscles and to prepare for the inaugural and three-day cruise convention.