A PAIR of plucky women have re-turned from an epic two-wheeled adventure across the globe.

Sheonagh Ravensdale, 62, and Pat Thomson, 58, rode their bikes through 15 countries in 16 months.

Since they returned, the Upwey duo have been giving presentations to local community groups in a bid to raise cash for healthcare in developing countries.

They clocked up 22,000 miles on their Red Honda falcon 400cc bikes.

Sheonagh said: “We got catapulted into an amazing motorcycling community with most people half our age.

“They would say to us ‘gosh, our mother is your age and she’s sitting at home and you’re doing this’.”

Among the more bizarre global gourmet the game pair sampled was sea squirt stew in Korea, crispy crickets in Mexico and barbecued rat in Laos.

Pat, a retired QinetiQ physicist, said: “We’ve been living for 16 months on the back of bikes.

“It’s hard adjusting now we’ve returned. You look at everything with fresh eyes.”

Sheonagh said her favourite leg of the trip was Mexico.

“We saw monarch butterflies there for their winter migration. There were swarms of them.

“It was the most amazing sight.”

The main dangers the pair came across were due to interesting driving habits.

Sheonagh said: “The most danger we were in was from the traffic.

“We both nearly got wiped out by a truck in Malaysia.”

Pat said: “Each time we went to a different country we had to learn a set of different rules.

“We were always having to remember which side of the road to drive on.”

In Japan, the pair experienced the kindness of strangers.

Sheonagh said: “We were put up by people for three months. There was so much hospitality.

“We met so many people.”

Since returning, the pair have been helping with Olympic preparations – Sheonagh as lead language volunteer for the Olympics ambassador programme and Pat has been helping out at the Sailing Academy.

The pair are raising funds for Motorcycle Outreach – a British charity that raises funds to provide motorbikes for health workers in developing countries. If you are interested in booking them for a presentation please email Sheonagh at sheonagh_r@yahoo.co.uk.