Anyone who can remember Tom Butterfield crossing the finish line in a tutu at the Bermuda Day Marathon will not be surprised that he has just completed his latest feat -- another madcap bicycle trek across 1,000 miles of Britain and Ireland.

Tom and sister Peggy Couper recently returned to Bermuda after concluding the gruelling two-week long cycle trek to raise funds for The Masterworks Foundation, Tom's brainchild for Bermuda's art world.

In big orange glasses, bright yellow tie and socks with no shoes, Tom blends in like a chameleon with the eclectic decor of his office at the Masterworks Foundation. He is a person who radiates energy. He talks fast, changes subjects quickly and is incredibly animated.

When his sister Peggy arrives, the similarity between them is evident. He stood up to give her a hug and said: ''You're the perfect biking companion -- you never b***h, moan, or bellyache!'' Tom and Peggy's route began in Harrogate in northern England. They climbed up through Scotland and ploughed over the grey waves of the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland by ferry. From there they plunged into the green heart of the Irish Republic, were swallowed in Welsh mists and struck back out on the road into Norwich, England for the triumphant final stretch.

From May 31 to June 16, Tom and Peggy covered more than 1,000 miles and averaged 75 miles a day. They were followed in a van by Tom's wife, Jill, who made all the arrangements for the trip. Friend Michael Hamer joined them briefly in Ireland.

"It wasn't a piece of cake,'' said Peggy.

In fact, sometimes it verged on the dangerous.

While their route was mainly confined to back roads, it was sometimes necessary to go out onto the highway.

Tom said: "Sometimes you have to go on major highways for a while, with these tandems barrel-assing at you at 100 miles per hour on these skinny little roads. Your back is to them, but if you could see them coming at you, you'd quit, say `no, I don't think I'll do this'.'' Both Tom and Peggy also suffered from illness which threatened to call off the rest of the trip.

But despite hazardous roads and a bout of poor health, they both considered the trip a positive experience, remarking on the beauty of the landscape and the hospitality of the locals.

Tom said: ''On our first night we were very generously treated by Jenny Forster to stay at her hotel, the White House Hotel, in Harrogate, absolutely free. That was her way of making a contribution to the fund-raising. It was an unbelievable gesture. That's the sort of treatment that was typical of our reception.'' They were particularly impressed with the beauty of the north coast of Ireland.

"The views up there were absolutely stunning,'' Peggy said.

They also saw their share of more sobering political realities in Ireland, particularly in the border towns, where patriotic graffiti scarred telephone poles and sidewalks.

Tom said: "You come through this beautiful, pristine countryside and then the Ulster Constabulary looks like something out of World War II. It comes at you out of the blue -- you come off the country lane and all of a sudden there's barbed wire and fencing everywhere.'' They also recalled the fear evoked by the Ulster Freedom Fighters, whose slitted eyes glinted from their balaclavas as they preached violence in the streets.

Despite the tensions festering in Ireland, Tom's conversation about the trip is peppered with humorous anecdotes.

He described an incident at the end of the trip.

"We got off at the Liverpool station in London and put our bikes in the back of a London cab. We came to the first set of stoplights and a lady on a bike pulled ahead of us -- this lady with a helmet and a dress billowing out around her, sitting absolutely perfectly upright on a Raleigh three-speed.

"We kept overtaking her, but at every stoplight she'd pass us. Finally she pulled right alongside our window, looked in at the bikes, and shouted: `That's cheating!''' Tom and Peggy's infectious enthusiasm about their trip almost made it possible to overlook the purpose behind it -- to raise money to keep The Masterworks Foundation alive and thriving.

They were successful in raising more than their goal of $150,000.

Tom said: "We need to say a huge thank you to all those who helped us go over the top of our goal. We were really handsomely rewarded. Out of hundreds of people contacted, only two said no.'' "Right now I can say that in excess of $200,000 was pledged. We can't give a final figure until outstanding pledges are sent in. The money will be put towards education and endowment, two of the basics of the Foundation.

"The whole notion of biking is really about not just about a little exercise, but experiencing sights and scenes -- a different way of life. It's like a bygone era -- people living on farms in really rural areas.'' Peggy quickly added: "We've had enough `bouquet of farm' to last us a while.'' Plans for another bicycle trip in two years are already brewing. Tom is considering a route between the major monuments of England. He calls it the Monumental Tour.

For a character in orange glasses who has built the impressive Masterworks Foundation largely on his personal dynamism and prodigious energy, the Monumental Tour is a fitting name for any of his ventures, past or future.

Photos courtesy Tom Butterfield Trekking for art: (Top) `Guest cyclist' Michael Hamer (L) and Tom Butterfield pause along a 1,000-year-old bridge in the Republic of Ireland. (Lower left) Brother and sister team Tom Butterfield and Peggy Couper pose beside the bicycles while an artist paints beside the Atrium Route (lower right) in Northern Ireland.