Title: The Start - Pointe des Almadies (Cap Vert, nr Dakar)
Dates: 21st October GPS:
Distance: 0km Total Distance: 0km
Just four more sleeps before Paddy and I set off for the UK. Well maybe there won’t be that much sleep going on, but it is all coming together. Some new sponsors have come on board in the last couple of weeks with the promise of a few more to ease the considerable pressure. Ericsson, Bassari Resources, Mineral Deposits and some generous private sponsors are all making a big difference; Allegro Bikes and Schwalbe have provided equipment. We’ve now bought all our camera equipment and Vladimir at Cycleworks WILL have our bikes ready by Tuesday!…..Please check out the latest podcast too. This is just an introduction, but every few days during the journey, I will be calling up on my satellite phone to make a recording which you will be able to access from the right hand column. This will be a great way to keep in touch with what’s going on. Even better, if you subscribe to the RSS feed, you will receive an email every time this blog or the podcast is updated.
Since my last blog we’ve been back to Western Australia to say goodbye to my parents and family. Always difficult, but they do understand how amazing and important the expedition will be. Paddy and I were also at the Excellence in Mining and Exploration Conference in Sydney last week. This was partly to honour the many supporters we have from the industry already and also to find more sponsors and supporters. Much interest was created and more sponsorship is being negotiated.
There is still a scarey amount to tie up in the last few days – when you are going to be away for the best part of a year there are a lot of bits and pieces to sort out. Fortunately we have some great friends who are helping us out.
The education programme is fantastic. The Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development have created something very special. This is a great opportunity for teachers and their classes throughout Victoria, Australia and globally to get involved. The more people put in to it, the more they will learn and benefit. I wish I’d had the chance to to learn this kind of thing when I was at school.
I’m looking forward to meeting the other half of the team. I have been communicating regularly with John and Daniel for almost a year now, but we have never met in person. We’ll also meet John’s mate Simon who is the back up driver. It’s amazing to think that four very different people, who are virtually strangers but who each have this common purpose and goal are going to spend 10 months together to pull this off. We won’t be strangers for long!
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