I've mentioned charity in an earlier post. But I thought I'd summarise what we're doing, and why we're raising for the MNDA again. It can't hurt.
In summer 2014 my father-in-law passed away from Motor Neurone Disease. He was a decent and kind man. He fought valiantly, but ultimately in vain. MND has no cure and very little in the way of delaying tactics. MND slowly but inexorably wasted this good man away, robbing him of movement, memory, speech and, in the end, his life.
The MNDA is the sole MND charity in the UK, offering practical and emotional support to sufferers and their families and friends. Their advice and care is invaluable because this is a comparatively rare and fatal disease without significant NHS funding, and without them I think a great many people would be utterly lost in how to cope. Additionally the MNDA are at the pointy end of vital research which might one day prevent anyone from suffering from this horrible disease ever again.
To raise money for this worthy cause, in July this year along with Jim Gardiner, I will be cycling coast to coast across Iceland. We'll be doing this unsupported and off road.
Thanks to the vagaries of this intensely volcanic and unpredictable island, we're currently keeping the route quite flexible. However it's likely to go from either Rifstangi (furthest north point of the island) or Akureyri (on the north coast) to Kotlutangi (furthest south point). Either way, the route will cross Iceland's interior highlands and be around 500km at least. There are no roads, or at least what you and I might call roads. There are some tracks, but most of these are a serious proposition for even the most hardcore 4x4. In addition, there are freezing river crossings, miles of loose sand, lava fields, volcanoes and boiling mud pools. And as if that weren't enough, the weather is almost certainly going to spend a good deal of its time being horrible to us.
For over 200km, the only other people we'll encounter will be very occasional lunatic off-road drivers. There are no shops, no roads, no hotels or hostels. Besides lichen, nothing grows. There will be no-one to help us. It is a desert.
All of this will be done on a fatbike. For the uninitiated, a fatbike is basically a cross between a mountain bike and a monster truck. It has 4" wide tyres and is designed to be able to keep on trucking where other bikes just give up. They also look really really cool. But that's obviously got nothing to do with anything...
Now, let's be absolutely honest about this; I'm doing this trip because I want to. Because I crave the silence and the challenge. However, the MNDA is a charity which is well worth supporting and is close to my heart. So if my stupidity can also raise money and awareness for this great cause, then so much the better.
So, don't be impressed with my selfish little holiday, but instead just donate something to the MNDA (via the link next to this post or in the hyperlink below) and help people who genuinely need your help.
If you feel so inclined, you can follow events via the links below:
Cheers,
Tom
