The Ride

The Vision - I first heard about Edmonton based charity groups two years ago, when moving into our new home. My neighbor and now friend, Tim introduced me to a local organization he works with and their projects. I was intrigued by the idea of locally based charity group supporting grassroots initiatives in specific communities within Africa. I feel that this is the most effective way of assisting development and supporting impoverished communities with their day to day existence.

Last November, while reading about two motorcyclists riding across Africa, a seed of imagination was planted in my head. I began growing thoughts of exploring a distant land in a way that would allow me to connect with the people, all the while raising awareness and support for their causes. I saw the opportunity to create a tangible connection between the prosperous people of our home city and foreign communities that could use assistance. I realized I could make the greatest difference by combining such a trip with a fundraising project to assist one of these locally based charity groups in Edmonton already making a difference. I found this charity group with a great group of people: Hands Across Africa ( www.handsacrossafrica.org ).

Unique it is. I realized that this was not to be just some ordinary cross continent adventure, as I would in fact be crossing three continents- that is North America, Europe and Africa. But even more than the challenge of doing the ride, it is a sign to communities and individuals that our problems are not isolated – indeed the world is connected in the fight against many issues. I wish to raise awareness of this situation and in doing so, by organizing a fundraising campaign, not only on a local level, but also on the national and international levels as well.

The Project

The primary goal is to reach Mt. Kilimanjaro by motorcycle, starting from Edmonton, Canada, and in doing so, we wish to raise awareness of our two charity groups we want to support and make a direct and significant contribution to. We will also spend couple of days working with Amani's Children home, one of the main beneficiaries of HAA - so consequently also one, which will receive a major part of the funds raised through this trip.

Fundraising is key to success. We consider as a secondary goal to continue our travels all the way down to South Africa, if time permits. The secondary goal will be also financed through our own funds.

At the current stage we are able and willing to

privately fund the project. We decided that all funds collected will go 100% to charity. With this gesture we hope to signal that none of our sponsors and donators is supporting a road trip of two persons. All proceeds will go to the groups we support. No profit will be made by the riders.

As mentioned, our goal is to raise at least C$ 50,000. If not specifically mentioned differently by donator, by default 88% of the raised funds will go directly to Hands Across Africa. The other 12% will go to Change for Children and distributed as the organization sees fit.

Depending on the amount of sponsorship we receive there is a likelyhood that sponsored products will be auctioned after the trip and funds raised will also go to the charity groups.

The Planned Route

The route planning is currently under way, and is subject to changes due to time, political and other possible constraints. To see more details, just click on the map.

And here a great animation of our planned route in 2010. This was done by the great video artist Eddie. To contact him via email, click here.

Current Route in details

Ride For Africa - Edmonton to Mt. Kilimanjaro

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Route Animaiton

For more details on the route please click here.

The Schedule

A total of 3 months traveling time is planned for this trip. This again is just a first estimate and will depend on route options and future changes yet to occur. A major factor will be the weather on the African and American continent, as climate can be extreme there. After due consideration of the climate chart and political/travel stabillity of each country we are planning two travel options.

For Option A and B our current plan is to start this trip in sping 2010 from Edmonton. We expect to be able to reach Ottawa in about one week. For Option A the trip through Europe will be done in about 2 weeks, around May 2010. Once in Tunis, the idea is start from there mid May at the latest, ending the trip end June at Mt. Kilimanjaro/Tanzania. This schedule can be changed in accordance with any other charity trip organized.

For Option B, which at this stage is our confirmed road map, our current plan is to start this trip also in spring 2010 from Edmonton. We travel the same stretch and time to reach Ottawa . After arrival in Europe our route varies to Option A. At this stage we plan to travel all the way to Africa by bike, meaning we will use the route via Turkey, Jodania to get to Egypt. We expect 3-4 weeks travel time for this length. We estimate to enter Egypt in end of May, beginning of June, arriving in Tanzania end of June 2010. This schedule can be changed in accordance with any other charity trip organized.

Here a matrix we put together showing the rainfall of the countries we will be passing through in Africa. I collected the data from the BBC website:

The vertical grey line symbolizes the travel path. By moving this line left and right you can adjust your departure time and try to find the best slot to travel through these countries.

The right motorcycle

Lots of thoughts on the right motorcycle. We are currently looking into several brands/types. Looking at the route we will spend around 75% of our trip on tarmac and about 25% on sand/gravel. Especially in Canada and Europe we will certainly spend 50% of the time on highways, exceeding speeds above 100 km/h. When entering Africa road conditions will deterioate badly and we can expect often a mix of tarmac (with huge potholes) and sand/gravel roads. Further, options for fueling up will be limited from then on. So, here some characteristics this bike should include: