Donations
The easiest
way to donate is via the Charity Giving web site, Click on
the picture to the left to take you straight to their donations
page.
Charity
Giving is a charity donations web site that ensures any monies
you donate all go to their respective recipients. Indeed,
if you are a UK tax payer, make sure you check the Gift Aid
box on donating and Charity Giving will add the tax relief
to the donation, so a donation of just £10 is worth
£12.42 to Keeping Abreast.
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Home
Welcome
to the Fat Bloke On A Moped home page, the web site designed
to give you the information you need about my journey
of something completely alien to me.
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Current
Total Raised as of 16th Nov 2012
£9,442.70
The
Fat Bloke On A Moped team organised two rides
to raise awareness and funds for Keeping Abreast,
the breast cancer reconstruction support group.
The rides consisted of
Project
Norfolk was the first foray of the
team to work out the possibilities and
logistics of a bigger project.
The
ride consisted of the circumnavigation
of the county of Norfolk, on bikes that
have a [very] limited top speed.
The
ride was in two groups. The 50cc moped
and scooter riders set out on Friday 24th
September 2010, camping the night just
outside Great Yarmouth, while the motorbike
contingent set out on the Saturday and
endeavoured to catch far slower 'Moped'
group.
The
ride, along with a few other events, kicked
started the fund raising and sowed the
seeds for the next phase.
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A very ill Claire near the beginning of
her treatment along with me after arriving
back at base. Click the pic to be taken
to the full story and pics of Project Norfolk |
Click the map to be taken to the full story
and pics of Project Britain |
Project
Britain Starting on Saturday 25th June
2011, with 3 weeks of daily riding in hand,
David and Kevin set out to circumnavigate
the British mainland, sticking closely to
the coastal road.
On
125cc scooters.
On 'L'
plates.
Planning
hadn't stopped since the end of Project
Norfolk and the jigsaw pieces of accommodation
and commercial sponsorship were in place.
With
Roger taking 3 weeks off of retirement duties
and driving the support vehicle, packed
full of essentials, non-essntials and what
turned out to be a very useful mobile pharmacy,
the team of 3 were ready to take everything
the weather and Britain could throw at them.
What
could possibly go wrong...!
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So
What's It All About?
In
February 2010 my wife, Claire, was diagnosed with
Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) which, in non medical
terms, means she had cancer cells forming on the inside
of her milk ducts of her breasts. Statistically there
would be a 20% chance of the condition developing
into intrusive cancer, i.e.: breast cancer. In my
wife's case, the DCIS was quite prevalent and as Claire
had lost her mother to liver cancer, she felt the
option for her was a double mastectomy. She was 38
when diagnosed, twelve years before her first regular
screening.
I want to do my best to ensure there is the support
and guidance in place to help others in a similar
situation.
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Kevin,
Roger Claire & David
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...and
Mopeds and a Fat Bloke?
To
answer that I need to discuss inspiration and and how
the concept was arrived at.
Luckily for both Claire and Myself, in 2009 we had the
pleasure and fortitude to enjoy two holidays abroad, a
fortnight in Crete and a fortnight in Cyprus. Holiday
reading for me over the course of these four weeks consisted
of "All at Sea" (currently in print under the
name of "In A Bath") by Tim Fitzhigham, where
Tim rowed to France from England and back again - in a
bath (honest), "Three Men & A Float" by
Dan Kieran & Ian Vince where three guys drove a milk
float from the furthest point East of Britain to the furthest
point West, "Round Ireland With A Fridge" saw
Tony Hawkes hitch hike around Ireland with a fridge and
by no means least "We Could Be Hero's" by Ben
Dirs & Tom Fordyce where the intrepid duo set out
around Britain (and parts of Europe) in a camper van with
the express intention of being world champions at something.
All blinding reading and I can recommend every one of
them.
The spark however, was Bank Holiday Monday 3rd May 2010
when Claire and I were wallowing in self pity, knowing
the operation was just over two weeks away, watching a
BBC3 re-run of a Top  Gear
Special of James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson
attempting to ride cheap motor bikes from South to North
Vietnam. If a self confessed bike hater such as Jeremy
Clarkson can get on a moped and ride it the length of
Vietnam with no former bike riding skills, surely I could
do something similar.
My mind was awash with enthusiasm. The books I'd read
on holiday the year before came flooding back and I couldn't
help but think I could circumnavigate Scotland, Wales
and England on [say] a moped.
There were however a few caveats that make this a challenge,
namely;
1. I'd never riden a motor bike, let alone a moped, in
my life
2. I therefore had no form of motor bike licence
3. Naturally, with points 1 and 2 considered, I didn't
own a moped either
4. I know nothing about mopeds or motor bikes
5. I weigh 20 stones (that's the 'Fat' bit)
6. I'm a guy (that's the 'Bloke' bit.)
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 OK.
Where and what now?
The
plan was to start raising funds for my chosen breast cancer
related charity Keeping
Abreast, by doing some trips. They had to be
a challenge but we started off small and worked up from
there.
First off, we circumnavigated the Norfolk border at the
end of September 2010 and raised £3,116.12. You
can read all about this trip on the Project
Norfolk page.
Secondly, in Project
Britain, we circumnavigated the coastline of
mainland Great Britain, bringing the total raised to £9442.70,
achieving the goal of raising enough money to buy the
machine and training needed by the Queen Elizabeth II
Hospital, for use in breast reconstruction after breast
cancer.
As
for the next challenge though, maybe write a book of the
story so far or even embarking on something further afield.
France. Africa. Australia! Norfolk to Naples has a certain
ring to it :-)
You
can keep up to date with all my latest progress via the
Blogs
page.
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Our
Sponsors
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King's
Lynn , 01553 614800
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Salters
Lode, 01366 386711
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Yateley,
Hampshire 01252 870900
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MACKIES
Cards, Stationery & Giftware
14 High Street, Downham Mkt, Norfolk, PE38 9DB
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Downham
Mkt, 01366 382198
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Tottenhill,
Norfolk, PE33 0RL
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Click
the pics below to see the sponsorship decals
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...And
a big thanks also go to:
(While not able
to sponsor us, the following companies and individuals offered
help in some way)
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Alan
Breeze: For embracing this project and handling the
national journalistic duties of contacting the press
and radio throughout the country.
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JD
Wetherspoon: Head office approval to rattle
buckets for an hour at any/all JD Wetherspoon outlets
while on our ride around Britain. |
All
the B&B's and guest houses who have so kindly offered
us accommodation and breakfast and in some cases evening
meals too! Click
on our map to see all the places donated |
Vancouver
Quarter King's Lynn: For allowing us to
bucket wave in the shopping centre at a zero cost. |
| Andy
at Anglia
Training Services for waiving the cost
of Kevin renewing his CBT with them. |
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Pace
Fuel
