Luca and Steven's Northern Vietnam Motorcycle Challenge Adventure
Steven Taylor is raising money for Shift.ms
Story
On Easter Monday 17 April 2017, Luca and I will be setting off on a motorcycle adventure across the most remote parts of Northern Vietnam.
We start off picking up the bikes in Hanoi before loading them onto the overnight train to the northern town of Lào Cai, just south of the Chinese border. After a stop in Sa Pa to see an old pal we will set out to reach to Ban Gioc Waterfall in the far North East of Vietnam. Then from there we head southward to Cát Bà Island before heading back to Hanoi. The whole circuit will be over 1500km... which will take a little while at 30 to 40km/h on little baby 125cc's!
VietnamCoracle.com says "this motorbike route straddles the Chinese border, carving a meandering course over mountain ranges and along river valleys. Largely on small roads that have only recently been blasted out of the mountainsides, this road trip is a slow crawl through some of the remotest parts of the country. Dramatic scenery, fascinating border towns, ethnic minority markets and lush farmland abound. This is a route to be taken slowly – there’s hardly a kilometre without a hairpin bend – and with plenty of time to allow for unforeseen circumstances, such as bad weather and landslides." Wow!
Whilst I've done lots of off road riding, most of that with pals from the Trail Riders Fellowship, I've never done an adventure like this before.
Luca on the other-hand will be upgrading his Vespa scooter to his first Yamaha motorbike! Big whoops for him for jumping in at the deep end!
We are using our expedition as an excuse to raise money for Shift.ms. Why? Well quite a few years ago, my top friend Ally (who I used to work with at Spoils Kitchen Reject Shop in Newcastle when we were youngsters!), called me to tell me she had been diagnosed with MS. That was a shock and really hard to take in. I'm so proud of her, she has got on with life and helped set up shift.MS, a charity to help those diagnosed with MS.
Below is some more information about Shift MS.
Please show your support and give generously!
Thank you.
Steven & Luca
*********************************************************
Shift.ms
There are over 100,000 people in the UK with multiple sclerosis (MS), and around 100 people are diagnosed every week. MS is a chronic, debilitating condition for which there is no cure. Most people are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s, a time of key life decisions about relationships, family and careers.
Being diagnosed with a long term condition is a frightening and isolating experience that can cause anxiety and depression.
Shift.ms aims to reach people with MS (MSers) as soon as possible after diagnosis so they can receive support to adapt to a life with MS.
The people who benefit the most from Shift.ms are MSers who are referred to us at the point of diagnosis, but we need your help to reach them. It costs around £25 for us to reach someone newly diagnosed with MS.
Shift.ms was launched in 2009 by George Pepper and his friends, following George’s diagnosis with MS at the age of 22.
Today there are over 7000 members worldwide."
*********************************************************
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
We start off picking up the bikes in Hanoi before loading them onto the overnight train to the northern town of Lào Cai, just south of the Chinese border. After a stop in Sa Pa to see an old pal we will set out to reach to Ban Gioc Waterfall in the far North East of Vietnam. Then from there we head southward to Cát Bà Island before heading back to Hanoi. The whole circuit will be over 1500km... which will take a little while at 30 to 40km/h on little baby 125cc's!
VietnamCoracle.com says "this motorbike route straddles the Chinese border, carving a meandering course over mountain ranges and along river valleys. Largely on small roads that have only recently been blasted out of the mountainsides, this road trip is a slow crawl through some of the remotest parts of the country. Dramatic scenery, fascinating border towns, ethnic minority markets and lush farmland abound. This is a route to be taken slowly – there’s hardly a kilometre without a hairpin bend – and with plenty of time to allow for unforeseen circumstances, such as bad weather and landslides." Wow!
Whilst I've done lots of off road riding, most of that with pals from the Trail Riders Fellowship, I've never done an adventure like this before.
Luca on the other-hand will be upgrading his Vespa scooter to his first Yamaha motorbike! Big whoops for him for jumping in at the deep end!
We are using our expedition as an excuse to raise money for Shift.ms. Why? Well quite a few years ago, my top friend Ally (who I used to work with at Spoils Kitchen Reject Shop in Newcastle when we were youngsters!), called me to tell me she had been diagnosed with MS. That was a shock and really hard to take in. I'm so proud of her, she has got on with life and helped set up shift.MS, a charity to help those diagnosed with MS.
Below is some more information about Shift MS.
Please show your support and give generously!
Thank you.
Steven & Luca
*********************************************************
Shift.ms
There are over 100,000 people in the UK with multiple sclerosis (MS), and around 100 people are diagnosed every week. MS is a chronic, debilitating condition for which there is no cure. Most people are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s, a time of key life decisions about relationships, family and careers.
Being diagnosed with a long term condition is a frightening and isolating experience that can cause anxiety and depression.
Shift.ms aims to reach people with MS (MSers) as soon as possible after diagnosis so they can receive support to adapt to a life with MS.
The people who benefit the most from Shift.ms are MSers who are referred to us at the point of diagnosis, but we need your help to reach them. It costs around £25 for us to reach someone newly diagnosed with MS.
Shift.ms was launched in 2009 by George Pepper and his friends, following George’s diagnosis with MS at the age of 22.
Today there are over 7000 members worldwide."
*********************************************************
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.