Memorial Ride Pics

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Memorial Ride Update Dec 28th Journey's End

I write the final trip update a few days after our return in the early hours of December 23rd.

Christmas and family reunions have since intervened and I can only apologise for not sending this out sooner.

The last full update was sent from Essaouira in Morocco. The coast road to Safi and then onto El Jadida and Rabat made a welcome contrast to the route we had taken on the outward journey via Marrakech. It has to be one of the worlds hidden great rides, with fantastic mountain and sea views as the landscape gets slowly greener, easing the eyes after weeks of sand. Parts of this route resemble the west coast of Ireland, with others reminding me of the Cornish coast. Agriculture changes from hill farming to arable vegetable produce as the soil grows more lush. The only downside is the occasional industrial reminder that the coastline and beaches dont seem to be particularly valued in North and West Africa. Both at Safi and El-Jadida large smoke-belching chemical factories disgorged millions of gallons of chemical effluent straight into the sea from huge outflow pipes.

Arriving in Rabat, minor disaster struck. No sooner than we had found somewhere to stay for the night than Daves front tyre went flat. But of all the places to get a puncture, this had to be about the best. An hour in the hotels heated garage and a new tube sat inside Daves now paper thin front tyre. The puncture was caused by a tiny staple, but this had ripped a fair size hole in the inner tube. The Ultraseal in the tube had stopped the tyre from going immediately flat which, given that we had battled heavy traffic to get into Rabat, was a good thing.

The following day we pressed onwards, taking a scenic route northwards, instead of the direct route to Tangier and Ceuta. This involved a two hour ride on Moroccos excellent motorways (look out for hand held speed cameras courtesy of the Gendarmerie Royale, people walking across the motorway and cattle on the hard shoulder) to Meknes, followed by a very scenic ride directly northwards, taking in coffee at Moulay Idriss (one of the great Muslim holy cities). We briefly reprised our 2000 visit to the impressive Roman town of Volubilis before heading to Chefchaouen for the night, high in the mighty Rif Mountains. This route took in part of our original journey to Morocco in 2000 and allowed a contrast between what we saw then and to appreciate how much the country has changed for the better in five years. Cleaner, more friendly, better facilities, fantastic roads, fewer hustlers.

In 2000 we had merely stopped for lunch in Chefchaouen and didnt realise then what a gem this wonderful mountain city is. A fiercely independent minded Berber town, the imposing walls hide a historic medina, kasbah and mosque, along with perfect views over the mountains from rooftop restaurants which serve the very best that Moroccan cuisine has to offer.
While in Gambia, I had wondered if I was slightly mad to bring along my heated jacket, but at last on our northward journey, the climate took a turn for the worse, with the climb into the Rif Mountains bringing plunging temperatures as well as breathtaking views.

And so finally, our last day in Africa arrived. Two riding hours the following morning took out through the Rif, past Tetouan and along the new dual carriageway to the Moroccan/Spanish border at Ceuta. Following a group of Spanish riders on BMWs we raided the busy border crossing, not stopping for anyone and quickly found ourselves spat out into the little Spanish enclave and back in EU territory. It was only later that we remembered that we should have obtained an exit stamp at the border. Ah well, Im happy to argue the toss on my next visit. Yes, I think well both be back.

We lunched in Ceuta. A strange experience and very Spanish. Families on a Sunday outing with little or no knowledge of the wonders that lie further south. Overweight people abounded, a sight that wed not seen for many weeks even among the richer communities of Africa. This sparked an inconclusive debate about European dietary habits.
Anticipation marked the ferry journey from Algeciras to Ceuta weeks before, sadness and reflection the return trip. So many things experienced, seen and felt. Much to think about as well.

But we still had Europe to cross and spending the night in that British curiosity which is Gibraltar, marvelling at the oddities of Sterling in cashpoint machines and lager louts in bars, we set our minds to the relentless miles which awaited us on Spanish winter motorways.

Day one of the Spanish section saw us press on with a grim determination to get as far as we could in one hit. Reduced daylight hours and growing cold didnt stop us from putting hours at a time in on the saddle, trying to maintain a steady 110 kph, while Jack Frost tried to find a way into our riding gear. But by 5pm wed had enough and checked into a very nice roadhouse just south of Madrid for some welcome hot food, wine and shut-eye.

Frost blanketed everything as we departed the following morning. Madrid was frantic with traffic and like a plonker, I took a wrong turn, dumping us both in the city centre. Half an hour later we were free, but behind on time as we headed up the motorway to Burgos, climbing ever higher through the frost, clouds and into the Sierra De Guadarrama.

The 3,000 ft high pass at Puerto De Somosierra was bitterly cold, but it also marked a weather front and we broke through to brilliant sunshine the other side. The weather stayed bright until beyond Burgos, we once again found ourselves in freezing fog. By this time we were traversing the Pyrenees and soon started the long descent to Bilbao.

Our final night in mainland Europe saw us safely ensconced in a nice little hotel about 15km from the ferry port. This was an evening of celebration and reflection as we drank rather too much local wine and beer and devoured local dishes of pig trotters (an odd dish) and ox tails.

After one major delay to the trip, the final indignity was a ferry with a broken engine, running six hours late. The crossing was uneventful, if a little choppy in the Bay of Biscay. Both of us were very tired and not looking forward to journeys end. After all we had seen and done, it seemed more than a little odd to have to readjust to Christmas in northern Europe. Hordes of drunken, booze-cruising Brits didnt do much for our general mood either.

In a similar way that he had seen us off, Steve Manning was waiting behind the lens of his video camera on the ferry ramp, making us feel welcome and marking the official end of the journey. A hours trip in the dark to Beckenham and others were there to greet us help us unload the bikes and break open a bottle of champagne for a 2am toast to our achievement.

So we did it. All the planning worked, the support from our sponsors, in particular BMW and Metal Mule, had made it happen.

The End

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Thoughts

There are so many thoughts and impressions which arise from the journey. I will share these with you all when I sort them out in my mind. But we are both pleased that we had achieved the aims of the trip and extremely grateful to everyone who had helped to make it happen.

We have learned much from our time with Riders for Health which strengthens our links with them and I hope has helped to highlight their work. It also makes us realise the importance of the work that Simon Milward started on Indonesia work which follows in the footsteps of Riders for Health successful and effective healthcare logistics programme.

Dave and I cant avoid the imagery that arises from what some have already read as the completion of Simons Millennium ride. This is not a comfortable association for me as some may view this as impudence and I am sure that Simon would have had many more adventures and made much more impact on the people that he met. But we did learn that he had been due to visit Riders for Health in the Gambia, so it seems highly likely that we took pretty much the African route north that he would have taken.

Our trip was inspired by Milwards Millennium Ride and a personal commitment to continue his work through Motorcycle Outreach from both Dave and myself. Our Bikes carried the Millennium Ride logo in addition to Motorcycle Outreach and Riders for Health. I hope that our own achievement, as small as it is, helps to keep the spirit of Simons ride alive and in the process highlights the extremely important work of Riders for Health in Africa and the equally important and similar work that is being done in Indonesia by Motorcycle Outreach.

Dave had to leave early on the 23rd for his flight back to Poland and later that morning I found a note that hed written wishing us all a merry Christmas, adding we finished the Millennium ride. I hope that Simon is pleased.

There will be further updates with specific facts and figures about the trip, further details of support from sponsors, equipment reports and a more detailed account of our time with Riders for Health.

Craig Carey-Clinch

Memorial Ride Update Dec 15th - Out of Africa... Almost!

Firstly, apologies for the long delay in sending an update. Cyber cafes further south were either non existent, or completely unreliable, dropping the connection before an update could be written.

On leaving Banjul in the Gambia, Dave travelled on alone for a week to explore the Casamance area of Senegal, to visit the capital of neighbouring Guinea-Bissau and east to locate the site of Simon's accident near Kayes in Mali.

He then took an offroad route north out of Mali to Ayoun-el Atrous in Mauritania and rode back to Nouakchott via the Rue de l'Espoir ( Road of Hope ).

I took a more relaxed route back north into Senegal in order to take a better look at some of the places we had rushed through on the way down. The Isle de Goree off the coast near Dakar is well worth a visit for anyone thinking of going to Senegal. Dakar on the other hand is a grand place if you are into hustlers, pickpockets, backed up toilets, power cuts and traffic fumes. Some interesting sights despite all this though.

I reentered Mauritania via the notorious crossing at Rosso. It has to be the worst border in Africa -- it certainly has that reputation -- Some Dutch guys I met gave up after 6 hours of waiting, scams and rip offs. My strategy was to get there at first light and get people out of bed to sign papers before they had properly figured out that a potential victim was about to slip through the net. It worked and I escaped with only the loss of a few Euros and Bic pens to the thieving scam artists on the Mauritanian side.
The ride to Noakchott takes you back through the final areas of Sahel and into the Sahara proper. The road is perfectly OK to ride, but you have to watch out for fresh potholes, as the local population have a habit of stealing the tarmac for other uses -- I saw one guy digging up the centre lane of a roundabout and stacking the tar into a small donkey cart.
Meeting Dave, we both set off along the long new road to Nouabhibou (NDB), a 450 km stretch with no fuel stations -- the fuel cans came in handy again. We did ask at a couple of places en route for petrol, but found none, only diesel. The owner of one place did offer me his young child in return for my GS Dakar though....

Stopping overnight at NDB, we headed for the Western Sahara border, catching sight of the ore train once again. Formalities for reentering Morocco controlled territory were far simpler than the tout infested border at Ceuta and a long haul saw us once again in Dakhla and the following day Laayoune.

Crossing the desert northwards is a different experience. The light seems different (no sun in our faces this time) and new colours and contrasting landscape reveals itself. The vast emptiness is still a humbling and awe inspiring experience though. I will return some day.

After Laayoune, we stopped in Tan-Tan, Morocco. An excellent town, with a good hotel, but apparently no alcohol. After a long ride though, a beer is just the best way to finish the day off and after a few enquiries, the hotel knew of a guy, who knew of another guy who may deal in beer. However, we would have to take a taxi ride with yet another person who the beer dealer trusted. So ensued an interesting experience of a circuitous taxi ride around town, followed by a ten minute wait up a dark alley, while the 'friend of a friend' took our money, talked his way past the beer dealer's look-out and 'scored' a few bottles of Flag Specialle for us. Some places in Morocco are intended to be very dry indeed.

The day before yesterday we stopped in Agadir for the night, arriving in Essaouria yesterday evening. Tomorrow we head for Gibraltar and out of Africa.

So really all we have to report is an awful lot of motorcycling. The GS Dakars have both held up extremely well. No bike relates issues so far, though the tyres are starting to look a little thin... The Metal Mule luggage continues to impress, offering good solid storage space with plenty of security. We've shot a fair bit of footage with the video cameras which were supplied by BikeCameras.com, so we'll have to figure out what to do with this when we get back. One idea is to produce a short film which comes on a DVD along with plenty of Riders for Health and Motorcycle Outreach resources, plus other resources which link to our terrific sponsors. However, let's get the trip finished first.
I should also mention the Scottoilers as well. Mainly to say that 6,000 miles later and two dusty desert crossings and we've yet to adjust the chains on either bike. Nuff' said...

Oh, and it's getting quite cold now.... Freezing nights and warmish days. So that's it for now. I'll do my best to get a final update out before we leave Bilbao.

Craig and Dave -- on the road

Memorial Ride Update : Dec 10th - Somewhere in the Sahara

We're now in Western Sahara, where we've got our first mobile 'phone signal since leaving Senegal and so can give you all an update on our progress.

Both riders are back together, following Dave's tour to Guinea Bissau and Mali and Craig's journey up the coast of Senegal. We rendezvoused in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, ready to cross the Sahara to Morocco.

A more detailed update will follow as soon as we find a functioning internet connection ...

Craig

Memorial Ride Update: Dec 1st Banjul and a Vision of Hope

The last few days have been an amazing experience, meeting the Riders for Health team and learning about their work. The operation is incredibly professional and far larger than we had anticipated. The Riders centre occupies a large compound in Banjul, where operations, servicing and vehicle management of the two and four wheeled fleet takes place. In addition to the roughly 130 motorcycles, work is carried out on vehicle fleets on behalf of the Government and a number of other aid agencies. Riders has become an important part of Gambia's medical transport infrastructure.

A field trip was also taken, with our Motorcycle Outreach team braving the challenging ferry crossing of the Gambia River once again, to visit a Riders field centre and to talk to health workers about their activities.
The commitment of people here really shines through and it seems clear that with more support, much more could be done to improve essential basic medical coverage in remote areas. The roads here are absolutely appalling and as a result even small distances are challenging. The challenge for health workers is clear, though without Riders, things would be much, much worse.

Check out www.riders.org for more details about their work in The Gambia and elsewhere.

While we have been here, a decision was taken to bury the Milward family time capsule at the Riders centre rather than at the place that Simon had his accident. This was a decision that was not taken lightly, but governed by the serious concerns that both of us had regarding the safety of the capsule after it was buried. The Road to Kayes in Mali where Simon crashed is currently under development. Unlike the UK, when road works take place in West Africa, an uncontrolled melee of diverted vehicles tear through the bush or desert looking for a way around the obstruction. One concern was that it would be difficult to find a meaningful place the bury the capsule that would ensure that it did not get destroyed by passing traffic, or further road development work.

In addition, we have both noticed that whenever we stop - even in the deep desert - we are not usually alone. Someone invariably pops up from behind a tree, rock or some other feature of the landscape. We had both become concerned that two characters burying something by the side of road would be noticed, with the capsule perhaps being at risk of theft.
We have learned from people here that Simon had planned to visit the RfH centre in Banjul. So after discussing the issue with Simon's family and Riders for Health, it was felt best to bury the capsule here in Banjul, where Riders can look after it and perhaps people in the future can come and visit. Riders are happy for us to place a proper memorial at the burial site in the fullness of time.

This has led to some adjustment of our itinerary for the journey home. Having achieved the joint aims of the run to visit Riders for Health and to bury a commemorative time capsule for Simon, we are both about to head north. The extra time that we now have means that Dave will realise an ambition to make a short tour of western Mali while I work my way up the coast, meeting Dave for the long jump across the Sahara.

Look out for more news in about a week's time.

Dave and Craig on the road

Memorial Ride Update: Nov 28th Mad Dogs and ...

It's great to finally be in Banjul after a week of tough riding in places. Distances are vast and one can only really appreciate how big the Sahara Desert is by riding across it. Map's don't do justice to the huge emptiness and sheer beauty of the place.

Leaving Agadir, we almost overreached by trying to make Laayoune in one hit. The ride went well, but we arrived after dark, not the best time to be riding in the desert. During that day we started to see cars from the Amsterdam/Banjul challenge and met some great folks, part of a team of around 30 cars which are being driven to Banjul and auctioned. Britain has its own version, the Plymouth/Banjul Challenge.

The next two days saw the long road to Mauritania. The desert changes all the time, so always something new to see. It's not empty either - people fishing from the cliffs, cars passing, even people cycling along the road! We also encountered a fair few traveling folk, mostly German groups or individuals. Bikes are not too common, we've only seen three or four. One German couple on an XT600 stopped for a chat and gave us information about road conditions further south.

The Mauritanian border was easily crossed, with the minimum of hassle and formality. The border guards and customs give an insight to what is one of the world's top(bottom?) five poorest countries. The border authorities live in their huts and enter formalities in ruled exercise books. The items of most value seem to be the customs stamps and a carefuly cleaned rifle at the police post.

No man's land between Western Sahara and Mauritania is mined and a 1km series of essentially off-piste tracks wind their way through between the customs posts. We followed a group of Germans who had been through before, to ensure we took the right tracks and the firmest path.
The short ride to Nouadhibou was along a part of the new road south to Nouackchott, a European class major new route which replaces the long overland and beach route of before. Arriving in town (dark again!) we found a decent enough hotel through the good offices of a tout who turned up in a battered Peugeot 205 at just about the right time.

Mauritania can best be described as crushingly poor. But the people are extremely friendly and have great dignity. Most are simply trying to scratch a living with what comes to hand. Cars are in the main battered and falling part resemblances of the model types that they once were and chug through the dusty streets quite slowly belching fumes. Working sets of lights are unusual and body panels often only mounted precariously. However accommodation is clean and the food well cooked and excellent.

We had a fair bit of trouble getting petrol for the trip south, finally finding the only one of over a dozen stations we tried which sold 'essence' -- almost a very tricky moment! Jerry cans filled in addition to the bike fuel tanks we headed south down the new road - recently completed and through 450km of almost nothing, one or two towns, but no fuel and no food or water. This was the day that we experienced the first real heat and since then regular hydration stops and sheltering from the main heat of the day has been the norm.

There are two options for crossing into Senegal - the Rosso crossing, or the dam at Diama. Several traveler reports warned us about Rosso. Tales of theft, corruption, false guards, false police and extensive rip off abound. The Diama Dam route on the other hand is a quite sleepy place where a crossing can be achieved with the minimum of hassle and cost. The only issue being that Diama lies at the end of a 100km of variable, though mostly good piste.

Missing the turn off for Diama, we found ourselves at Rosso and immediately surrounded by swarms of touts, with the odd fake 'official' thrown in. The place comes across like the gates to hell, where the unsuspecting are marshaled into a customs compound, another victim for the baying hoards of touts One chap had an authentic looking police uniform, but looking him up and down, Dave said 'so where's your gun sonny?' before we turned the bikes to head back to the piste road.

Arriving in Senegal, we took a welcome day's rest at Zebrabar, a wonderful travelers resting place run by a Swiss couple and set in what can only be described as the film set from the movie 'The Beach'. We were unable to make Banjul in one hit. It was too far and too hot. We stopped over in Koalack and leaving at first light headed for the Gambian border and onwards to Banjul. Big features of the last day of the outward trip was cautious plain clothes police on the Gambian side of the border who took our luggage apart and the ferry from Barra to Banjul which only goes when it becomes impossible to cram more vehicles and people aboard - a precarious 40 minute crossing of the Gambia river.
On Monday we start a two day stint with Riders for Health, who have been extremely helpful and welcoming. We had a small taste of this on the crossing from Barra - a Riders' healthworker with his spotless bike took the crossing with us. Many people here know about Riders - even the cops we met at the border were aware of their work.

Distances are deceptive here. Early in the journey we would cover huge number of miles each day, but even though the roads are mainly quite good, the necessity (at least for me) to stop for the heat of the day has meant scaling down daily mileage ambitions.

So taking stock of the outward leg, just how easy is it to ride? Well, road conditions have been excellent. The new Atlantic road in Mauritania makes all the difference. Apart from 1km at the Mauri/West Sahara border, 5km of broken road nr Koalack and 10km of disgracefully potholed road in Gambia, it's theoretically possible to ride just about anything from London to The Gambia. BMW remains the bike of choice for most though - and for very good reasons which anyone who does seriously long distances appreciates. However, if you want to avoid the Senegalese border at Rosso, you need to be prepared for the 100km of mostly very good piste to Diama Dam - this is where the GS Dakars come in.

Having said that, a ride to Africa isn't just a simple matter of jumping on the bike and riding. Border formalities need to be prepared for. Senegal - and now The Gambia - require Carnet D'Passage, luggage needs to be chosen carefully and medical supplies obtained.

It's also a long, long way and the sheer amount of riding involved can also become an issue on its own.

The BMW 650 GS Dakars have simply not been an issue on this trip. Daily mileages are eaten up at a reasonable rate of knots, we've encountered no problems whatsoever - these bikes simply punch above their weight in rideability, versatility on different roads and endurance. We're pleased that we fitted the Scottoilers as well. They've been churning out the lubrication through all the heat and dust and we've yet to have a need to adjust the chains.

The Metal Mule luggage has also served us very well. Secure, spacious and just the job for desert travel, the side and top handles on each box making to easy to move them and enabling us to strap additional items on top of the boxes without losing the ability to carry them around. Anyhow, we're here and it's good to have arrived. We're now having a weekend off and for once I think we deserve it!

More from us in about a week's time.

Memorial Ride Update: Nov 17 Chilly Morocco

The ride has gone pretty well so far. Nothing unexpected has happened and both bikes are running well. We've been mainly concentrating on putting miles under our wheels, which can get a bit tiring, but it's enabled us to make good progress and allowed the day off that we'd planned. Tomorrow will see an early start as we tackle the first of four desert sections; Agadir to Laayoune. The following days will see us travel from Laayoune to Daklha, Daklha to the Mauritanian border, then onto Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. After that we head for Senegal. The cold weather has surprised us. However, things should warm up from this point, though the forecast for the hottest part of the Sahara section is only a high of 32 degrees.

Bikes and equipment have worked well so far. The GS Dakar is tailor made for this kind of riding. The only issue is all up weight, but this is more down to an over ambitious equipment list than to any equipment deficiencies. Yesterday we started down the Atlantic Route N1 proper. A brilliant road through mountains leading steadily to the sea. Good photo opportunities and a chance to use the bullet cameras on the bikes, plus experiment with shots, for the first time

Morocco has been interesting compared to our last trip in 2000. There has been massive investment along the costal towns, with better facilities and much better roads. Prices have risen sharply. Last time we were here, spending more than a few Dirham on anything raised an eyebrow. This time, it seems that hundreds disappear from our wallets every time we open them.
Inland, the impoverishment of many people is still plain to see, with almost medieval village sights now much more starkly contrasting with the brand new Audis and VWs which flash through these atmospheric, but poor places, on brand new roads on a regular basis. However, the Moroccan people remain as friendly and welcoming as before - a country which is well worth a visit - indeed, more so since our trip in 2000.

Memorial Ride Update Nov 11th : Bay of Biscay

Having battled gale force winds in the English Channel overnight, we turned south and entered the Bay of Biscay. A steady 18 knots and on schedule despite the storm! The BMW Dakars are lashed down in the hold while we hatch plans to redistribute the weight (of luggage, not riders) plot routes through the Sahara, read Joseph Conrad and learn to speak French. Whale watching & dolphin spotting fill the gaps, while our mini-cruise fellow travellers exercise their intellects with the very English sport of bingo.

Landfall is predicted for 8:00 am local time, with a forecast of a chilly 8-9 degrees and light drizzles. Favourable conditions, including a much-desired decent nights sleep, should soon see the two 650s deep in Iberia.

The start of the run yesterday in London went without a glitch with our route to Portsmouth expertly guided by our friends in blue from Bikesafe London. A quick stop in Vines BMW in Guildford and we were on our way. Steve Manning, who starred in the MCIs A Street, a Track, an Open Road DVD, came along for the ride too.

 

Memorial Ride Launch : Nov 10th

Craig Carey-Clinch and David French departed the UK at 3pm on Thursday 10 November on a motorcycling adventure and memorial charity ride to Africa. Their aim is to raise awareness for healthcare charities in developing countries through Riders for Health and a new programme, Motorcycle Outreach.

Public affairs director of the Motorcycle Industry Association, Craig Carey-Clinch, and founder of the Irish Motorcyclists Action Group, David French will ride through Africa on BMW F650 GS Dakar machines. Their ride is dedicated to the memory of Simon Milward a well-known motorcycle humanitarian who died in West Africa earlier this year.

We are really keen to get on the road now, said Carey-Clinch. We will have a police escort out of London and our only concern now is bad weather at sea. Our trip is well organised and it has been great to have a company like BMW Motorrad on board at an early stage because they have helped us with a lot of the preparation details.
Over the past few weeks we have been busy in our full time jobs and getting the final details arranged. But we have already put over 1,000 miles on each of the bikes by doing practice runs from London to areas of England.

Coincidentally, Charley Boorman, Simon Pavey and Matt Hall will be riding the same model of BMW motorcycle the F650 GS Dakar in the arduous 2006 Dakar Rally starting on 31 December 2005. The competitors will cover over 5,200-miles over 16 days and ride over some of the toughest off-road terrain imaginable.

Craig and Davids 42-day, over 7,000-miles ride will be mostly on tarmac and take the duo across the Sahara Desert to the Riders for Health Headquarters in Gambia, West Africa and back to London again.

When we arrive in Gambia we will be spending time with Riders for Health to learn more about what they are doing there, take photographs and write a story. Our main aim is to promote the awareness of Riders for Health and the Motorcycle Outreach programmes through the media coverage we have obtained.

Riders for Health is a charity organisation that has worked for 15 years on the problem of delivery systems for healthcare in Africa. It works with ministries of health, UN agencies and focuses on using motorcycles to save lives in Africa.

At the time of his death in March 2005, Simon Milward was nearing the end of an around the world ride in support of projects aimed towards using motorcycles for the delivery of primary healthcare services in remote areas of developing countries. In partnership with Riders for Health, he had established a motorcycle based healthcare logistics project in Flores, Indonesia, and Motorcycle Outreach represents the continuation of his work.

Memorial Ride Sponsors

 

 

 

 

 

Equipment sponsorship for the Milward Memorial Run was generously provided by the following companies:

Milward Memorial Ride

In November/December 2005 two of the Motorcycle Outreach directors undertook a fact-finding trip to Riders for Health in the Gambia at their own expense.

Aside from learning more about the Riders for Health system and seeing it in operation the trip aimed to raise awareness of the work of Riders for Health, provide publicity for the launch of the Motorcycle Outreach charity and commemorate Simon Milward's Millennium Ride. Each of these aims were achieved.

Trip Outline

The route started in London, where we took the ferry to Bilbao, rode across Spain, crossed into Africa at Ceuta and rode down the coast to Banjul.

The return journey was the same (with a detour via Bissau and Kayes, Mali).

A full outline of the trip can be seen here (Africa Trip Outline) and a shorter version here: (Run Handout)

Press Releases :

Memorial ride 20-09,  Memorial ride 27-11, Charitable Organisation Launch

Dispatches from the trip:

MMR051110, MMR051111, MMR051117, MMR051128, MMR051201, MMR051210, MMR051215, MMR051228,

A selection of images:

Press Coverage

Full coverage of the trip was serialized across the first four issues of "The Road", a leading UK motorcycle magazine. These can be seen here, here, here and here or altogether here.

Sponsorship

Equipment sponsorship was provided by the Memorial Ride Sponsors.

Retrace the Memorial Ride route yourself...

In response to general interest the organisers of the Milward Memorial Run have put together a motorcycle tour of West Africa in support of Motorcycle Outreach. Further details....