I am Completing a Virtual man-powered lap around the world in order to raise awareness and money for Pancreatic Cancer UK.
The journey started back in 2014.
12/11/2014
23°27'16.65"N , 0° 0'0.00"E : 0 Miles down, 22,860 to go.
The desert. Bleak, sandy, hot. 26 Centigrade, even at this time of the year. there’s nothing to see for miles. The horizon blurs off in a heat haze. To the south, the border with Mali, to the North stretches the rest of the Adrar Province, but my journey will be taking me east, exactly east in fact, the neighbouring province of Tamanrasset and the Ahaggar Mountains await, but not yet. Not for a long while as I am just starting my journey here in Algeria and the Mountains are a good 350 miles away. I am travelling by bicycle. a total of 22,860 Miles, around the Tropic of Caner. A lap of the globe. A man-powered lap of the globe which will see me cycling, but with the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans ahead, with the Arabian Sea and firstly Red Sea in my way, I will be getting used to the old fashioned rowing boat by the time I am done too. If I get there. but I will. I must.
I am, of course, not in Algeria, but in South London, a much more hospitable environment for taking on such a challenge. we barely see 26 degrees here on a good year, and added to the fact that the exertions taking place will be in the air conditioned gym down the road, I’m not sure the weather is even a factor.
But first. what is this? The idea is not a new one, the man powered lap around the world is something we had always been planning in a ‘far-off’ kind of a way, it was initially through the Red Bulletin [Red Bull magazine] which had an article on ultra marathons and the man who ran around the world. [only took him 22 months too]. This will take considerably longer.
So a lap around the world? at present it simply isn’t practical to take the next 2 years off and go on an adventure from which I may never return, for one thing I’d miss my own wedding, and that doesn’t sound like a good idea. no, I don’t think so. then how? well I thought why not “virtually” do it, I can get all the information I need from the internet and google earth, and there’s only two forms of transport I need to master. I can sit in the gym and ride, and ride… and ride. until I reach water. then row, and row… and row. you get the picture.
So, that’s the “What” and the “How” dealt with, now the “Why”?
Other than the pride that completing this ordeal would give [which would be considerable] I thought there should be a purpose to my trip, something that will make it mean more than a personal achievement and also something to drag me out to keep going everyday. So with that in mind, I decided to dedicate this challenge to the research for the cure for cancer.
I’ve known people close to me who have been affected by cancer and it remains as horrible a disease as ever. I want to raise some money for the research into cures but also to raise awareness for one of the “worst” forms of cancer, not that there is a “best” form of cancer, but Pancreatic cancer is something I feel strongly about, losing my sister in law only this year. So this is why I will be creating a just giving page associated with this challenge, and remind you of it each time i post an update to the journey.
I’m still trying to think of a witty name for the challenge, and given I am travelling the Tropic of Cancer, for Cancer there should be something there I’m missing. feel free to suggest any clever names that come to you and if I like it i’ll use it [and give you credit]. Maybe i’ll even get some t-shirts printed up!
So there we are, I have travelled 15 miles today and have only 22,845 to go.