Leicester Mercury

Bikers heading north on an epic adventure

5,700-MILE TRIP TO RAISE MONEY FOR COUNTY CHARITY

- By STAFF REPORTER

TWO adventurer­s plan to travel 5,700 miles on motorbikes this year for charity.

Stan Hulme and Matt Daly, both from Leicesters­hire, aim to cross the Netherland­s, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland to the Children of the World monument at North Cape in Norway – Europe’s most northerly point accessible by car.

They will be totally self-sufficient throughout the trip and will be wild camping along the entire route.

The pair are raising money for Alex’s Wish, a county charity that raises money for research into the life-limiting condition Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Stan, a “growth coach and success facilitato­r”, said the journey was inspired by an accident he suffered a few years ago.

He said: “I fell backwards almost four meters, landing on my back.

“As I lay there not knowing if I had broken anything or how bad the situation was, I remember thinking very clearly that when I got through this I wasn’t going to waste any more time.

“There are things we all want to do and put off. One of those things, for me, was to plan and undertake an epic adventure.

“I’ve known Emma Hallam, the founder of Alex’s Wish, for many years and her passion and commitment to her cause has always staggered and motivated me in equal measure.

“After all the challenges Alex’s Wish has experience­d due to Covid19 I knew I really wanted to get involved and help.”

Stan, owner of communicat­ion and IT firm Dalycom, said: “Emma stood up at our networking group several months ago and said something that, as a father, hit me like an anvil.

“She told us that Alex, her son after whom the charity is named and who lives with Duchenne, is now considered to be middle-aged at the tender age of just 14.

That’s because of the life expectancy of boys with Duchenne. I knew I had to act.”

Stan and Matt’s adventure is due to start in May. They aim to return in time for the Adventure Bike Rider Festival 2021 at Ragley Hall on June 25 to 27. Matt said: “We are selffundin­g every element of this trip, thereby ensuring all donations received go directly to Alex’s Wish.

“We’ve set ourselves the enormous target of raising £100,000 and any size donation will help, so please do consider supporting us.”

“Over and above that we’re also looking for corporate sponsors to help us either by funding part of the journey or by providing us with essential kit.

“Bearing in mind some of the conditions we’re likely to encounter safety has to come first so anyone in the outdoor/camping industry or

the motorcycle industry is someone we’d love to speak to.

“This is all about making it work for everyone concerned.

“We’ll be filming the whole experience and are talking to various production companies and commission­ing editors about potentiall­y turning this into a TV series or film.”

Donations can be made via: uk.virginmone­ygiving.com/fund/ NordicAdve­nture

Follow them on:

facebook.com/TheInspire­dRider YouTube at tinyurl.com/theinspire­drider Instagram at theinspire­drider_official Twitter: @inspired_rider

 ??  ?? TIME TO ACT: Stan Hulme and Matt Daly
TIME TO ACT: Stan Hulme and Matt Daly

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