I think that the seed that is "travel" is one that you are born with, in my case "thursday's child has far to go". It only took the "water" in the form of the motorcycle for it to grow. I had travelled from an early age, my father believing that travel was the best education you could have. He left these shores himself for the first time courtesy of a Mr Hitler, and my parents sacrificed their own holidays so that I went on all of the trips, both home and away,organised by my school.

When I got my first bike the sense of freedom was intense. Nothing to beat it. Even getting twatted by a bus did not put me off, as it was not my fault. Many years later, a chance paragraph in MCN put me on a course that has,literally, changed my life.

I saw a small, very small, paragraph relating to Enduro Africa with scant details and a phone number. I rang the number, hammered my card with the £500 deposit,rang my wife to borrow the money,and wondered what the hell I did next. Well, raise another four grand, that's what! Ten months of car boot's, begging, blagging, ebaying and downright skullduggery got the wedge raised, and in November 2006 I boarded a 747 to South Africa along with many others all wondering what had we let ourselves in for.

Having been lucky enough to be a part of Blue Team, the only one to emerge (relatively) unscathed from the two weeks of riding, I came back with a damn sight more friends than when I started and a desire to do more of the same. After three months of very low spirits brought on by Enduro withdrawall, I knew that it was all or nothing.
The unfortunate ending of my marriage (although my wife has given me her full support) and a very abrupt redundancy (cheers Pidcocks) made the decision very easy; go off around the world before it's too late! I needed a reason, other than a selfish one, to do it so the idea to support Riders and Plan was hatched.
Having already helped Riders through Enduro Africa 2006, it seemed only right to include Plan, a child sponsorship charity that I have supported for a number of years. I have sponsored a child in Zimbabwe, which is what drew me to Enduro, as the bikes have gone there to be used, and now am supporting a child in Zambia who I hope to meet en route.