Many people tour countries on their motorbikes. Some on a whim, or some as a planned break. We want our journey to have a deeper meaning than a simple sightseeing trip, or motorbike getaway. We feel the journey is a large undertaking, and should not be merely for our own desires to ride motorcycles, but it should serve others as well. Sharing an interest in the Chernobyl incident, we count ourselves lucky to be from the UK, both being born in the months before the disaster; those born in Pripyat would not have been so lucky. The site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster may not seem a first choice holiday destination. It is, however, a reminder of how we should learn from the mistakes of the past.

The deserted town of Pripyat stands as a solemn testament to not only man's destructive potent to life on earth, but also to the sacrifice people are capable of in order to save it. While the calamity at the Chernobyl Reactor number 4 claimed many lives, exposed hundreds of thousands to radiation, and left the surrounding area uninhabitable, the actions of the fire-fighters, reactor workers and liquidators who put themselves in danger prevented the situation from becoming far worse.

During the summer of 2011 to raise money for Unicef we are planning to ride a motorcycle each from Durham in the north east of England to Chernobyl, travelling through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Poland and finishing in the Ukraine.

We are hoping to get support from as many people as we can and start raising money towards the end of 2010. Readers of the blog can help by following us on the left, spreading the word and getting others to read and follow and donate if they want to.

Many thanks from the riders for everyone's support.

Monday 4 October 2010

fun times with big bikes

So much has happened since the last post, I have now got my big bike licence and got myself my big bike, a CBR600f, its in yellow and black and has a scrape down the side. Im not hugely worried about the condition, as a first big bike I think there is going to be much worse things happening to it in the future.
Ive also got myself lots of fun extras to use while im biking, a nice tank bag, a scala G4 headset, a white and red honda racing motorcycle jacket, a new lid, all nice things.
I am also very excited about the addition to the trip, Paul will be great along side, three of us on the run.
Another big addition since the last post is that I have more or less finished the website for the trip, check www.twowheelstochernobyl.com and let us know what you think.
ride safe
John