2 year itch

After two years of concentrating on supporting others I have gone back into fund raising. Got a few projects in mind and have already started one or two.

Building a Dress making unit at Chatsworth: This will teach school leavers and young mothers to design and make their own clothes. Have had donations of sewing and knitting machines which will be ready for shipping ASAP. If you have a machine you are not using and you would like it to be in use, and you live in Staffs, please email H.E.L.P> International on helpinternational03@yahoo.co.uk

I am resting from all my 2009 travels.

April 2009: Stoke on Trent, UK, London, Doha, Johannesburg, Bulawayo. Rode a bicycle for 658km from Bulawayo to Masvingo to Harare with three friends. 8 full days raising funds for the children's charity Help International. the Masvingo, Johannesburg, Doha, Londan and back to Stoke, a four day travel marathon with no incident.

A report on the cycle ride is still being compiled and will be published soon.

July 2009: Stoke on Trent, London, Johannesburg, Masvingo, Chatsworth. Helped a water well team with tools and dug wells for three weeks by hand. Total labour for the life giving liquid.
then Chatsworth, Masving, Johannesburg, London, Stoke on Trent.
Report on this is also being compiled.

South African police are too corrupt for words. Everything at every check point is Rand 20. Beit Bridge should be cleaned out on both sides. Officers too corrupt. South Africans worse than Zimbabweans.

Donations please

The Zimbabwean Embassy has asked us to contact them for any help we might need. We need help with many aspects of the project. We are taking in basic medicines donated by suppliers in the midlands, 4 bike ambulances ( a stretcher on wheels pulled by a bicycle) donated by Stoke on Trent College, equipment for digging wells and our bikes and kit for the ride (all will be left for the charity to use for local people.)
So yes we need a lot of help. I hope that the embassy will give us some help.
1. Cholera continues to be a challenge but we think we know what we are doing.
2. Security is not a serious threat to riders
3. Fitness levels are reasonable, we continue to improve
4. Fear of snakes is misplaced.
5. For me, the thing I hate most is an insect called a mosquito. I hate quitos.

We are please asking for pencils, balloons and donations of cash. The embassy will not help with these. Need help.

Good response to logistics

Since we decided to go ahead with the ride in view of the Cholera threat, we have had good responses to our appeals for help. Stoke on Trent College is making four bike ambulances for us. Stoke on Trent City Council is providing the wheels for the ambulances, Staffordshire police are also providing wheels for the ambulances. We need 12 whels are of same size at 26 inch. We also need spare tyres and tubes.

Frum the public we are asking for baloons, pencils and very small toys. WE have received the first two packets of baloons and the first box of pencils.

Personally, my preparation for the ride in the form of practising on my bike is going well but could be better. I need to go out daily, but currently I am riding maybe four times per week.

The ride is definitely on now.

We thought about it hard after Cholera broke out in Zimbabwe. We thought about how we could get water during the ride and how we could make sure the water is clean. We have now concluded that the risk is minimal if we follow certain protocols. So the ride is going ahead as planned. First week of April all being well till then, we are in Zimbabwe.

We did set a deadline for joining as a rider and that deadline is 15/01/2009.

I am personally asking for donations from those who can donate in this climate. If you can help please do. If you cannot help with a financial donation, maybe you can raise awareness of the project and someone else will donate.

You could maybe make three small donations each month till then. Go to the Just Giving link below and give what you can, knowing that there is no middle man in the system. All your donation will be used on the project. Thank you.

Links to the ride

http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/College-technician-rides-Aids-orphans/article-584792-detail/article.html

http://www.justgiving.com/funzimbabweride600
http://www.justgiving.com/funzimride
http://www.funzimride.co.uk/
http://www.justgiving.com/richardpantlin
http://www.helpinternational.co.uk/

Our local press in Oxford and Stoke on Trent have both supported us well. We are very grateful to them.

Can you support us? Can you join us?

Plans for the ride are advancing fast. I started practicing two weeks ago and found I still know how to ride a push bike. This was a relief because I had not cycled for about two years. There is a ready route for first timers round here. The Canals, of which there are many in the UK, have paths running along them for walkers and cyclists. I have access to a six mile stretch with no real air pollution or traffic, just like it is in Zimbabwe, except its flat all the way. It will do for a start.
The general plan is to fabricate a small trailer and load a few bricks on it, and tow it round to simulate what we would be doing during the ride. I shall have to work out how to load pictures on this blog.

Meantime I here Richard did over 40 miles the other day. He must be fitter than me, but I cannot allow that. I am going to have a weekly schedule of about two hours per day daily and 4 hours on Sundays. There are groups of cycling fanatics round here. I think I will joining maybe two or more of them and see how fit the members are.

For gelled saddles, Tesco is you place. They are half the price at Halfords. In fact everything there is half the price at Halfords, which is a shame because I like Halfords. Also at Tesco are tents and sleeping bags of the size we need. Two and Three-man tents from 9Pounds each. That is better than buying from Ebay. Because we are fundraising for a charity, we always have to think of costs before comforts.

Please support us at
http://www.justgiving.com/funzimbabweride600