Dingwall rover Roy is back on his bike and on his travels as adventure calls
AN intrepid traveller who leaves his native Dingwall every winter in search of sunnier climes has saddled up again for an epic adventure that’s unlikely to feature in any glossy holiday brochure.
Joiner Roy Wilson (61) has bought a return ticket to Columbia’s capital city, Bogota, with plans to buy a bone-shaker bicycle when he gets there and head towards the infamous “Road of Death” through the Andes.
A familiar figure on two wheels around his native town, he’s prepared on his travels to sleep under the stars or claim a hobo’s refuge at fire stations as and when the need arises.
The joiner, who uses his day job to help fund his winter adventures, has previously cycled in excess of 5000 miles through the Americas.
Persuaded to attend a meeting of the Ross-shire Writers group in Dingwall before his departure, he revealed that cycling is his preferred mode of transport.
He’s tried backpacking but found walking too slow and his now defunct motorbike and sidecar, which he’s used for previous adventures, is deemed too much of a luxury.
Roy intends getting by on a budget of between £5 and £10 a day, and using his basic grasp of Spanish to get the craic with the locals.
Roy’s dietary demands are simple.
He eats plenty of the widely available fruit, which helps him stay hydrated, and guzzles up to four litres of milk a day along with rice and potatoes.
In what has become an annual tradition, this will be the fourteenth year that Roy has left here to head for somewhere warmer for winter.
Now a grandfather, the handyman is prepared to do odd jobs in return for his keep, previously getting involved in building houses for the homeless with a charity in Canada.
A technophobe, his only real concern is the prospect of his bank card being swallowed by an ATM.
Undaunted by the lack of any detailed travel plans after touching down in Bogota, he’ll go where the road takes him after finding a bike to carry him: “Life is more interesting that way,” he said.
