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.

Friday 28 January 2011

Latest updates

Good Day,
In the last few months there have been many things going on in my life which have left with me with little time to update and work on the website.
Dont worry i have not forgotten about the trip and everything is still on as much as i can do. Paul is still fighting on and well into his lessons and at the moment has his heart set on a honda transalp.
Unfortunatly there has been much saddness since the last post, my Grandma and Grandad died in the last six months and much of my time has been taken up around this. They are people i will never forget.

There will be regular blog posting and website updates in the future from myself and Paul.

Much of the information about the trip is now running through the site www.twowheelstochernobyl.com
I will continue to update this site but would like as many people as possible to join the mailing list there and follow the blog through the website.

Until next time, take care and ride safe.
John