Planning Get Together

Well the 4 of us got  together today to talk about the route and paperwork, we all brought our bikes that we are using for the trip to Bristol Harbour. We took a few photos and and a couple of video pieces talking about how excited we are for this once in a lifetime trip.

A quick reminder for you all to give me a donation at www.justgiving.com/FMFox we are raising money for The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign who do wonderful things for people suffering from degenerative muscle disorders.

During the course of today we got our temporary vehicle import documents filled in so we can get our bikes into Morocco and made sure we all had the correct insurance.

The route we are taking sees us leave Bristol on the 17th June (less than 4 Weeks away) and ride to Dover catching and early ferry the following morning. We then have 1800 miles in the next three days to get Algeciras In Spain. We meet Paul en route as the big wet pants is getting the Santander Ferry.

The next day we cross the straights of Gibraltar and enter Morocco at Tanger Med port.and then make our way down to Midelt. It gets hard from there with very little tarmac until we arrive in Marrakech 7 days later. Having crossed my personal goals of The Todra and Dades Gorge then heading south to the Sahara by Zagora.
 We stop in Ouarzazate to deliver a package to Peter at Bikers Home. Then  north to Marrakech crossing one of the Highest passes in the atlas. From Marrakech we'll make the long trip back to Bristol.

www.justgiving.com/FMFox

Finishing Touches

In 6 weeks time myself and my 3 fellow adventurers will be well on our way to Morocco hopefully having crossed the Spanish border and close to setting up camp near Valladolid.

So today I spent some time in my garage fitting the last few finishing touches to the Harley Davidson MT350 that I shall be riding for the trip. The upgrades that I have done for this trip include:

Removing the air box and fitting a K&N air filter

 Some replica MT 500 pannier frames

A large fuel tank from a Yamaha XT 500

A stage one tune on the carburettor and a new chain & spocket kit.

Last month a friend helped me change the clutch and do an oil change

I have intsalled some brilliant Ridgid Industry spot lights (available from www.zenoverland.com)

A front mudguard support and kreiga US 5 dry pack for carrying tools, an electrical socket for power for my GPS, communication units and cameras and

finally a scotoiler to reduce wear on the chain.

The scotoiler was difficult to fit as it e=involved removing the inlet manifold and the silicon sealant to the manifold is setting as I type.

It's worth noting that as much as this is going to be a fantatastic adventure. I am rasing money for the Muscular Dystrophy Campagin. This is a charity that is funding research for the treatment of muscular dystrophies and improves the quality of life for those that suffer from them too. This week research funded by this charity has made a significant breakthrough in the fight against this disease.
TThe story can be veiwed here

Please help me raise as much money as I can for this brilliant charity please visit my just giving page

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.