Route Map

This map gives you an idea of my intended route across Asia, down through North and South America, up through Africa and back into Europe. My interary is very likely to change but at the moment it looks something like:

England

France

Switzerland

Italy

Slovenia

Croatia

Montenegro

Albania

Macedonia

Greece

Turkey

Georgia

Azerbaijan

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

Kazakhstan

Russia

Mongolia

Russia (Siberia)

Alaska

Canada

USA

Mexico

Guatemala

Honduras

Nicaragua

Costa Rica

Panama

Columbia

Peru

Chile

South Africa

Namibia

Angola

Congo

Cameroon

Nigeria

Niger

Mali

Mauritania

Morocco

Spain

France

England                

Alison Waring

My round the world solo motorcycle trip is in aid of the Anthony Nolan Trust and in memory of Alison Waring (nee Jones).

Alison was my big sister, and due to the way she met and battled with her illness she is now one of my all-time heroes. She will always be a huge inspiration to me to make the most of my life. Alison fell ill in 2005, and was eventually diagnosed with myelo fibrosis, a disease that attacks the white blood cells.

This picture was taken at my brother's wedding, some time before Al got ill.

At the time she fell ill Alison was 44 and had two children, Jack (11 years old) and Jasmine (9 years old). Her eighteen month fight for life was the most difficult thing I can imagine anyone going through. To see a mother gradually realise that she will not be around to see her children grow up was heart breaking for our family and I can't imagine the anguish that Al went through.

During her battle Alison received bone marrow and stem cell transplants arranged with the help of the Anthony Nolan Trust and my family will always be grateful for the help they gave. Without the donor register, and all the other help, the level of hope that kept Al going would have been far lower.

Alison lost her battle for life in 2007 and I made a resolution then to raise funds at some point for the Anthony Nolan Trust, partly to say thank you for all their help, but also to help give other people a chance for life. Due to study and work commitments, and perhaps also a measure of memory loss and laziness, this is the first opportunity I have had to make this happen.

Alison loved to travel and at her funeral a list of the countries she had visited was read out by the vicar. To everyones amazement the list went on and on. Much of Al's travelling was done whilst she and Martin were living in Hong Kong and this was surely a period of her life during which Al really lived. It is perhaps fitting then, that this fund raising attempt is based on travel around the globe.

I don't understand why Al had to leave us so early in life but I hope, she is sat somewhere having a coffee and waiting for us to catch up.

If you would like to help with fund raising or publicity, or would just like to express your support, please get in touch via the contact details on my blog.

24 April 2012

Well quite alot has happened since my last entry and this a quick resume of progress.

My intial plan for this trip was to get to India overland, via Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan, and then push on through south east asia by the nose following method. However, I have had a major change of plan for various logistical reasons and have now decided to loosely follow the Mondo Enduro route. For those of you who have never heard of Mondo Enduro, they are worth a quick bit of research on Google and their book is a must for anyone considering a motorcycle trip of any considerable length. The aim of their route was to traverse the three major world land masses. Europe and asia, the americas, and africa.

These guys are my heroes and my ultimate ambition is to achieve the same result via a similar route. At this point I am only planning ahead as far as Alaska, i figure that if I can get that far then I will definately get to South America. I hope this does not turn out to be wishful thinking but time will tell on that one.

So my itinerary as far as Alaska will be someting like:

England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia, and then Russia again right across Siberia to a place called Magadan from where I will ship the bike, and myself, to Alaska.

I have tracked down and purchased a suitable bike on ebay. I went for a 1996 Triumph Tiger 885 with less than 10k miles on the clock. There were several reasons for this choice. I wanted something that would be fixable on the road so new technology needing laptops to fix it was out of the reckoning. I also wanted something with a bit of poke to munch the miles on the easier road surfaces. All my previous trips have been on Triumphs and I hope I haven't made a sentimental mistake.

The bike has arrived and I am pleasantly surprised, she handles well and pulls like a train. I have had a full service carried out by John at Truebikes in Neston. I had John fit a K&N filter and a top quality chain and sprocket set that should last around 30k miles.

I have made another big decision since my last entry and this was to try and raise some money for the Anthony Nolan Trust whilst travelling. The Anthony Nolan Trust helped my sister during her long battle against myelo fibrosis and I figure this is a good opportunity to pay them back.

I went to London last week to apply for a Russian Double Entry Business Visa. I need this in order to allow me to stay in Russia long enough to reach Magadan and also to give some flexibility to visit either Kazakhstan or Mongolia. I have got to go back to London this week to collect the visa and get my passport back. I reckon this visa will have cost me around £350 by the time I include travel to London.

Also set up Virgin Money Giving Account and created a link from the blog to allow people to make donations.

Currently hoping to set off next week but I have had some complications with paperwork and I am currently waiting for a new driving licence and international driving permits. Good news with the Carnet today, the RAC called and told me I dont need it until In reach South Africa and they will DHL it to me when I get there. This avoids paying for it up front.

Need to sort out my Green Card tomorrow morning to cover me for the trip to Greece. I think I need it for Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia. One other piece of good news is that Russia now has a reciprocal health agreement with the UK meaning I dont need Health Insurance until I reach Alaska.

Posters are now up in my local pubs advertising the trip so the pressure is on now to deliver the goods. Bring it on!