Thursday 28 April 2011

The Challenge

I have set up this page to promote my adventure to Morocco in June 2011. I will be using this to post updates of our preparations and progress when our journey begins (where i can get a computer). A full trip report will also be posted here.

I hope to use this challenge to raise awareness and money for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. It is a charity that both my wife Liz and I are very passionate about as she is a genetic carrier of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and has recently been diagnosed as a Manifesting Carrier of DMD. So please donate here: http://www.justgiving.com/FMFox

Here are some details about our challenge:

On the 17th June 2011 four of us (myself and 3 friends: Geoff, Paul and Simon) will leave the United Kingdom on dual sport motorbikes heading to the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert. We will have to endure long days in the saddle (covering 1800 miles in the first 3 days), searing heat (up to 50 degrees in the Moroccan summer) and most dangerous of all border customs.

Our journey of almost 6000 miles in 3 weeks begins in Bristol, from there we will ride to Dover before catching a ferry to Calais. From Calais we have 3 very long days (600 miles each day) to get to Algericas in the south of Spain. When we arrive in Spain we have a little time to carry out emergency repairs then we board the ferry in Morocco. We have allow a full day to get through the border.

From the border we continue south to the town of Midelt from where we cross the Atlas Mountains for the first time. Over the next 7 days we will ride 1000 miles dirt road and piste.

Experiencing the culture and hospitality of rural Morocco will be a once in lifetime experience.

Why the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign?


More than 70,000 people in the UK have muscle disease; it can affect anyone and conditions can be inherited or occur out of the blue where there is no family history. There are currently no cures for any of these conditions.

I am very lucky to be married to a very special lady, who is a genetic carrier of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and has recently been diagnosed as a Manifesting Carrier of DMD. This means that she has some of the symptoms of DMD in a much milder form than people suffering from the disease. The quality of life for a child with DMD is far from normal and they will have a short life expectancy.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Please visit http://www.justgiving.com/FMFox to donate.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.