‘Locals call me crazy!’ Spalding cyclist travelling length of Vietnam to rise cash for mental health charity

A cyclist is hoping to dodge extreme weather conditions and flat tyres as he travels the length of Vietnam to raise charity cash.

Former Spalding man Billy Trevey is saying his personal farewell to the country he called home for three years, while aiming to raise awareness of mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

The 35-year-old is planning to complete the 1,700km journey in 17 days of cycling as he hits the road from Hanoi in the north all the way down to Phu Quoc island in the south west.

However, the trek will include plenty more stop-offs en route in a country with views Billy describes as ‘breathtaking’.

“Pretty much every local person I’ve told about my trip has responded with ‘điên quá’, which means this is crazy, and maybe they’re right,” said Billy, who spent the fortnight before setting off last week ‘training, seeing old friends and eating great food’ while based at the port town of Hội An, near Danang city.

"After they’ve realised that I’m being serious they will usually recommend to me places to go, or will give me the number of their relatives from some far away village with the promise of a bed and warm food, and I don’t doubt them one bit.

“I will stop in my favourite places to play tourist and to see friends, and I will need rest days, so I’m going to give myself five to six weeks to finish it.”

Potential pitfalls will also need to be factored in.

“There are many obstacles on the road; flat tyres, sickness, unexpected rain, serious headwinds, and unannounced roadworks can really chip away at your time and your morale, so it’s best to prepare as well as you can,” Billy added.

“Cycling uphill for two hours against the wind under a 35 degree heat will wipe you out.

“The roads are well maintained here; luckily with my apps I can avoid the sketchy or more off road routes and stick to the tarmac roads. I will also avoid the busier motorways; no one wants to be cycling next to lorries and buses for 5 hours straight inhaling dirt.”

Billy was inspired to take on the challenge after Whaplode-based family friend Brent Usher declared he would shave off his beard of 45-years to raise cash for the charity in memory of his stepson Karl Southgate.

“I myself have lost a few friends to suicide over the years, and have even had a few personal battles with depression and anxiety which I have managed to overcome with exercise, a good diet and cutting out alcohol,” said Spalding-born Billy, who attended Monkshouse Primary and Spalding Grammar.

“So it all sort of all fell into place when I saw that Brent was raising funds for a charity which supports a cause so close to home.

“I’m hoping that maybe if someone is reading this, and they are secretly struggling with mental health issues, then this might give them the courage to take a step towards helping themselves; whether it be calling the CALM hotline, speaking to a friend or family, or cycling that first 50km.

“It’s easy to feel like you’re the only person in the world feeling these feelings or maybe having these alarming thoughts, but it is definitely more common than people think; and with such a rise in mental illnesses over the last decade, we need to erase the stigma attached to speaking out about mental health, and help each other overcome any problems they may be quietly fighting.”

Billy - who left Lincolnshire as a teenager to pursue a career in music, but still enjoys returning to the area where he ‘loves walking the dogs with my mum around the Fosdyke area in the mornings’ - is no stranger to two-wheeled travels.

“I’ve always cycled as my main method of transport as I believe it’s the best way to get around,” he added.

“I would probably rack up 15 to 20km a day, and at the weekend could do anything from 30 to 100km, depending on the weather of course.

“I got my first taste for long distance trips a couple of years ago when I cycled around the Girona area of Barcelona, completing about 50 to 60km a day.

“After completing this I decided to cycle around Ibiza on a bike packing trip - you take a tent or hammock with you and just camp after the days riding - I would cycle for a good portion of the day and sneak off in the woods before dark to set up my hammock and make some food.

“This was 250km over about five days and was a lot of fun. It’s a very liberating feeling of just being able to cycle when and wherever you want, and set up camp wherever, just don’t set up your hammock on an ants’ nest.”

Billy’s original plans to cycle Vietnam in 2020 were curtailed by the Covid pandemic and, after living in London for the past two years, he says ‘now seems like a good point in my life to return and do it, almost as a proper way to say goodbye’.

“The country is nearly 2,000km long, dotted with rice terraced mountains, palm-fringed deltas in the south, rice paddies, beautiful ancient architecture, and all tied together with a coastline of sandy beaches,” he added.

“The food is some of my favourite in the world and the people are super friendly, inquisitive, and always happy to help a stranger out.”

Initial plans to head east from Hanoi to take in Halong Bay, Cat Ba Island and Haiphong were put on hold due to storms and unpredictable rain in those areas right now, but undeterred Billy’s new route will still include the same start and finish points.

“Most friends and family know me for being quite adventurous so they weren’t not too surprised when I told them,” he said of his adventure.

“Brent and Tracy (Karl’s mum) were over the moon that I have raised awareness for such a cause and I’m pleased that I’ve helped them throughout such an unthinkably hard time.

“If anyone reading is lucky enough to know them, they know what I mean when I say they’re the kindest people you may ever meet, I just can’t imagine what he will look like clean shaven, since a young kid I’ve always known him as that big beardy guy.”

As if cycling the length of Vietnam wasn’t enough, Billy is also planning his next adventure, which has been narrowed down to cycling New Zealand, Japan, a loop of the UK or ‘maybe all three’.

Billy has set himself a fundraising total of £1,000, which will equate to 50p per kilometre.

You can sponsor Billy by visiting here and Brent, whose beard shave will take place on August 31, by visiting here.

Anyone seeking help can contact the CALM hotline on 0800 58 58 58 (5pm-midnight daily).

Samaritans offer FREE round the clock, confidential support to anyone that wants to talk through their problems. Call Samaritans on 116 123, calls are free from any phone, or visit www.samaritans.org to find out about the wide-ranging support on offer from Samaritans and other organisations.