News Update

We have both started full-time work now so our preparations have changed levels.  Ross and Demi had some swanky cycling jerseys made, which will hopefully motivate us to train!

Our new cycling jersey

I finally picked up a bike in Edinburgh thanks to Winsome, and have been spending my free time bringing it back into top condition.  It's a Dawes Galaxy, which were the top bikes in touring for many years.  Recently the trend has been moving towards off-road capable bikes but for our plans the Dawes is perfect.

Dull times; cleaning, polishing and waterproofing a leather saddle

All it needed were new tires and inner tubes and a good clean, so I stripped it down to the bearings and built it back up with new grease and adjustments.  It was good to have a project for the evenings to take my mind off work and to mark the change from the last 3 years of reading and typing.  I have a better idea of how the bike works now too!  Hopefully that means I'll be able to fix most things on the road.

I managed to get out for a super-quick ride before the downpour started.  It's a fantastic bike, not twitchy and speedy like a racer but not as 'stuck in the mud' as a mountain bike.  It just wanted to get moving and keep going!  I'm very excited to take it on a longer run.

The nearly-finished product!

There are still a few things to do, like re-tape the handlebars and get a set of front racks and panniers.  For now the bike is just right, so I'll be cycling the 20 miles to and from work from now on...  As long as it doesn't rain!

Now that I've got a bike and I'm earning some money it feels like everything is coming together.  It's a great feeling, and there's still 3 or 4 months left before we leave!  I don't think I've ever felt as prepared for a trip this early.  We're on the crest of the wave!

P.S.

OBLIGATORY JUSTGIVING CHARITY LINK

http://www.justgiving.com/uk2africa2013

Let's go to work folks.

John

Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick post to say thanks for the continued support throughout the initial stages of planning & to share my news that I am sadly selling my mountain bike, a Giant 29er, to help fund the trip.

The bike is currently on ebay and getting a lot of views, check it out at : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mens-Giant-29er-Mountain-Bike-/221176263811?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item337f21f483

Both myself & John are currently under the hectic pressures of final year so putting the planning aspect of the trip on hold until mid Feb but we will be straight back into it ASAP.

Remember you can still donate on our JustGiving page.

Thanks again,

R&J

"Let's go live in London next summer..."



That's me, John Niven.  On the 28th June 2012 I didn't agree to cycle from the UK to Marrakesh.

 

This is Ross.  On the above date he suggested we both go and live in London the following summer, to get used to not being students any more.  Over the next 10 minutes the idea changed from living in London to Madrid, China, Germany and finally to cycling to Africa.

I suppose you could say that good things happen in unexpected ways.  Eric Newby began his short walk in the Hindu Kush on receipt of a telegram from a friend, leaving his job in the London fashion industry to travel overland to Afghanistan in the 1920s.  Walter Bonatti began mountaineering when a stranger found himself without someone to hold his rope.  Harry Potter found out he was a wizard from a half-giant bursting into his holiday cottege.

I suggested cycling to Africa thinking that Ross would tell me I was being stupid and to get a grip.  However I underestimated how much he wanted to be Peter Pan and never grow up.  I nearly choked on my smugness when he agreed.  Even worse, he sounded positively enthusiastic about the idea!  After a couple of days, we both agreed to go for it.  After setting up and publishing our first blog post there's no backing out!

The aim of the trip is to see something of the world, and remind ourselves that life does go on after leaving education!  The general idea is to cross the channel from Dover, head through France and cross the Pyrenees into Spain.  A stop in Barcelona would be nice, before heading on to Gibraltar to cross the Mediterranean Sea at its narrowest point.  From landfall in North Africa we will head for Marrakesh.  After that, who knows?

Click to see a Google Map trace of the route. This gives a very rough idea of the route, we are currently refining it.

The trip will be funded entirely by ourselves, but we will be setting up a JustGiving page in aid of Alzheimer Scotland.  We'll post the link when it's sorted.

A bit about us;
John Niven is 22 and from Strabane in Northern Ireland.  He is at the University of Cumbria on the final year of the Outdoor Studies (Environment) course, and lives in Ambleside, Cumbria.  Travelling around rock climbing, cycling and running is what he does in his spare time.  He does not have a girlfriend.

Ross is 21 and lives in Liverpool, studying Outdoor Education and Environmental Education at Liverpool John Moores University.  He has a girlfriend but cannot brush his hair.  However, he does enjoy wearing a gilet, driving fast boats, and organising 'things'.

 

We will be keeping this blog updated with our planning/organising progress and with news on the trip itself.