This article was in this week’s Tivyside, a local paper here in West Wales.
Wales Online and Wales Today
David Woodthorpe of Evolution signs has kindly and generously made signs for the Panniers and back box.
There is plenty of space on these for extra sponsors, all money donations go directly to Street Child.
Sponsors are needed to raise money for Street Child, a charity helping to rebuild the lives of children orphaned by Ebola in West Africa. Sponsorship could be from a few pounds from an individual to hundreds of pounds from a business.
In return for donations of over £250 I would put company logos on the bike, bring the bike to photo shoots, participate in publicity events and generally shout from the rooftops about how good you are.
For more information or to discuss a sponsorship deal, please contact me.
I have done some more work on the bike. I have installed a pair of high intensity led spot lights to boost the poor light from main beam on the bike. LEDs have come a long way ams give a lot of light for little power.
They are mounted below the main light cluster just above the towing loop.
They are wired into the main beam via a switch so i can isolate them if needed.
I also installed a pair of bark buster hand guards to save my hands when i fall and to provide some wind protection.
How big is Africa? – The standard world map does not give it’s true size due to the way the Earth is flattened to put on paper. A guy called Kal Krause has produced this image which gives a better idea of the scale.
I have been watching the blog of an Australian Patrick Davey who is travelling a similar route to me. He left the UK this week on his way to Cape Town. Here is his facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/drcanafricanadventure/timeline
And he has a satellite tracker plotting his current location:
https://share.delorme.com/PATRICKDavey
I have moved the site to a new domain www.john-barrett.uk/africa Please update your bookmarks.
I have designed a new logo for the trip, I hope to make stickers and badges to swap with fellow travellers and Scouts I meet on the road.
I have now fitted a set of heated grips to the bike as well as an auxiliary power socket and USB charging point. I have also done a test pack of most of the kit to check for space – I need not have worried, I have plenty of room.
I have set myself two challenges for this trip. One is to raise money for Street Child who work in Africa to help kids who are for whatever reason left to fend for themselves. One of the outcomes from of the Ebola outbreak is that thousands of kids are left as orphans and in desperate need of help and support.
You can donate via the Virgin Money giving site.
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=John-Barrett
My second challenge will be to meet as many fellow Scouts as possible on the way. If you are a scout in Africa please use this web site’s contact page to get in touch.