A good cause.

When I started this trip a lot of people asked me if I were going to raise money for charity. I always answered that sometime along the way I might put up a just giving page to raise some money for a good cause. As I am approaching the 20,000 km milestone and have some tough new challenges ahead I feel it is a good time to put the request out. 

About this time last year me and Phil Hayward (Wolves head of medical department) started to train for the Chester marathon where we collectively raised over £2000 for the Birmingham Children's hospital. This seems like a good cause to try and continue to raise some money for, especially since I am cycling back to near Birmingham.

So if you enjoyed reading my blog, or asked me before I left if I was raising money for charity then now is your chance to donate some money to a good cause. One of the players at Wolves FC where I used to work, said I could 'raise a million', if I did it for charity. I don't really think that is possible, but even if a small amount is raised I'm sure the hospital would appreciate it. I have not set a target as I see it as any money raised is a bonus and know that people get asked all the time to donate money to charity all the time. So if you feel it is a good cause it would be good if you could spare a few pounds.

DONATE HERE: http://www.justgiving.com/CycleEatSleep

I am currently in Osh, Kyrgyzstan and about to take on the Pamir mountains into Tajikistan and along the Afghanistan border. I will be cycling up to an altitude of over 4600 meters so it will be very cold and with spectacular views. During this time I will pass the 20,000 km mark for the entire trip before arriving in Dushanbe. Here I will have to wait a week for my Turkmenistan transit visa which is the last visa I have to obtain. From here I will cross the scorching deserts of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran. After Iran I have a choice to make. I can either go straight across Turkey or up through Armenia and Georgia and then get the ferry across the Black sea. I am currently thinking of the later option especially if I spend the whole month in Iran. All cyclists say it is the highlight of their trip and with the cost of the visa I think I should maximise my time there. Once back in Europe it a 3000 km time trial to get the ferry to the UK! 

China

Well I had started writing about the time in China, but the videos are finished so thought I would just upload them and post a video blog. I may do another written blog in the future as a lot happened and the mechanical problem in the second video had  a lot more complications and issues than simply replacing the cable. Anyway the videos will give you a good idea of the trip. China is now my favourite country to cycle in beating France into second place.

China Part 1 - Yunnan Province

China Part 2 - Up To Lanzhou

China Part 3 - The Hexi Corridor

China Part 4 - Exit The Dragon

South East Asia Revisited

I am currently in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan awaiting for my Iranian visa after obtaining ones for Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. I should get it on Thursday all being well and then its off to cycle across the Pamir mountains which I am very much looking forward to. The only visa left to get will then be the Turkmenistan transit visa which I hope to get in Dushanbe. I arrived here after cycling through Kazakhstan from China both of which were great.

China was an incredible journey. It was a shade under 2 months and 5573 unforgettable and epic kilometers. This makes it the most cycled country on the trip so far beating New Zealand by about 100 km. It is also now the third county I have spent the most time in. England is obviously first, Germany second (3.5 years when younger), China third (3.5 months for work in 2006, 2 months now and a few trips to HK) and then the states fourth (3 months in 1996 and various holidays and work trips of various lengths making about 5 months total). 

China will probably be 4 videos, 2 of which are done and 2 I've got to put together so should be up fairly soon. The reason I do the videos is document the trip whilst I’m going along and prefer them to just looking at my photos. I try and use music which I am listening to at the time or which represents a theme in the clips. I've been listening to ‘The Streets’ a lot whilst in China, which is not something I would usually listen to but the lyrics make me chuckle and some remind me of home ... “the hazy fog over the bull ring”, “If they don't win this one and the next one, they're getting relegated to the third division” ... hmmm ... unfortunately that happened to Wolves where I used to work but let “push things forward”. At least Villa survived! I know this all happened ages ago but I was without access to this site whilst in China.

Before I blog about the ride in China it’s time to go back to South East Asia, as I’ve uploaded the videos for Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Take a look!

South East Asia, Part Two - Cambodia

South East Asia, Part Three - Laos

South East Asia, Part Four - Vietnam