Julian revs up for his African motorcycle challenge

A 6,000km motorcycle challenge in the blazing African heat awaits University of Teesside lecturer Julian Carter. Julian will be joining over 100 other riders to raise funds for the organisation Riders for Health, which supports rural health care in Africa and around the world.

Riders for Health use motorcycles to deliver medicine and professional staff around central and sub Saharan Africa and Asia. Some of the areas they reach in Africa include Zambia, Lesotho, South Africa, Mozambique Zimbabwe and Zaire.

Julian, 40, from Wakefield, is a Teesside graduate and has returned to the University to lecture in Civil Engineering and Disaster Management. Although the event takes place in November, Julian needs to raise £4,000 now towards a Honda CTX00 bike for the ride and its operational support. So far Julian has raised £2,300 and needs to raise another £1,700 by August this year. In March he underwent a total head shave, raising £400. He was encouraged to take part in the ride by friend and fellow rider Ian Crownshaw, also from Wakefield.

Father-of-two Julian said: “Any amount would be welcome. A penny is better than nothing! Riders for Health are not just about distributing drugs, they also give health workers access to the population to teach about good health practices.

“If we can make the quality of people’s lives better, then we’ve done something wonderful. I think we’re trying to make the world a better place for people without trying to save the world.

“The journey will include going up the mountains to Rhodes, one of the highest points in South, and we’ll also wake up in the middle of the Shamwari game reserve. We will ride from dawn to dusk each day by ancient wagon trails and gravel roads, taking on high mountain passes and sleeping in protected wildlife reserves; with the distant call of the wild to rock us to sleep.”

Julian added: “It’s going to be quite a hard two weeks. The temperatures will be in the top 30s in places so we’ll need to stay hydrated to prevent heatstroke. My preparation includes general fitness training, swimming, running and off-road riding. I’d like to thank the University for giving me three weeks paid leave to do the challenge.”

Julian is also hoping for a Teesside reunion. He is aiming to meet fellow Civil Engineering graduate Paul Mohobela, who lives in Lesotho. The pair has not met since they finished their degrees at the former Teesside Polytechnic in 1990.

Anyone who wishes to sponsor Julian can e-mail him at julian.carter@tees.ac.uk, before 1 August.

---