Franco’s Challenge: 11,000 km by motorbike from Siena to Kathmandu Sept-Oct 2010
Hi, My name is Franco and I am 39 years old. After more than 15 years working in the financial industry in the City of London, I have now decided, as many of us do at a certain stage in their life, to take some time off and use my skills, motivation and determination for a charitable cause: in my case, it is raising money for Child Action Nepal.
My aim is to raise an amount of money that can actually MAKE a BIG DIFFERENCE to CAN and its children. This would mean, ideally, being able to provide a home for more children in the orphanages which would involve renting or buying a larger house/s. I have therefore set myself a target of raising £40,000 for the charity.
So, for you to help me make a BIG difference, I imagine you would like me to take on a BIG challenge.
The CHALLENGE: riding my motorbike from my home town of Siena in Italy to CAN's orphanages in the Kathmandu Valley , Nepal.
I will be leaving from Siena and travelling 11,000km exiting Italy on the Slovenian border then into Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, from where I will take the "silk route" into Uzbekistan via Samarquand, Dushanbe in Tajikistan and then south on the Pamir Highway (highest paved road in the world), briefly entering Kyrgyzstan in order to access China via the remote Irkeshtam pass. Once in Kashgar in the Chinese province of Xinjiang I will head south on the Karakoram Highway and enter Pakistan from the Kunjerab pass at 4,900 meters following the highway along the Hunza valley all the way to Islamabad then Lahore and entering India in Amritsar. From there I will be heading south east towards Delhi and all the way to Varanasi, then north to the Nepalese border where I expect to arrive in Kathmandu by the end of October.
I have organised this trip myself and I will be riding on my own with no mechanical support. I have bought a second hand 2004 Honda Transalp650cc that is currently undergoing some "surgery" in order to face the challenging roads of the Pamir and Karakoram mountain range. I will have a larger petrol tank than the standard one (to give me a riding range of at least 500km between refuelling), reinforced suspension,and protection bars for the engine and tank. The bike will also be stripped of all non essential parts as I will have to load at least 100kg of luggage including spare parts such as oil filter, tools, electric air pump (I had to fit a 12v plug on the dashboard), tyres, tent, water tank etc.
Organising all this has been already a challenge. Just to enter China for few days I have had to register the bike there and get temporary Chinese number plates. I have had to get special authorisation to travel to certain regions of southern Tajikistan, and the paperwork in order to get the visas for some other countries has not been that straightforward either. Also I will have to be at certain border crossings on specific dates as, being in transit, I have had to specify the exact date of entry and will only be allowed a limited number of days to pass through those countries.
Aside from extreme weather conditions, my other challenges along the way will be the frequent landslides (common in mountain regions of Pamir and Karakoram) severely damaging the road, or a border crossing suddenly closing down for security reasons (possibly the Irkeshtam pass into China). As I am writing this I have been informed that the Tajik –Kyrgyz border is closed due to turmoil in the region and that the M41 “Pamir Highway” is partially closed due to a collapsed bridge. The possibility of having to turn around and find other ways around problems that will arise is very high. Nevertheless I am confident that I will make it to Kathmandu by the end of October. Once I reach the orphanages I will spend one month with the kids doing voluntary work. I will be back in the UK by the beginning of December and back to work in the City by January.
I have organised a gathering for my departure from Siena (localita' ilBraccio) at 12.30 on Monday 13th September where I will be saying goodbye to my family and friends and those who would like to join in and find out more about CAN and my challenge.
My second gathering, with the same purpose, will be on the first stop-over, in Milan, on the same afternoon, Monday 13th, at 18.30 at Bar Victoria (Via Clerici 1). Please feel free to join me and my friends there!!
I would hope you also feel able to support me by making a donation to Child Action Nepal by clicking here or on the donate button below.
Franco Mancini
Child Action Nepal is extremely grateful to Franco Mancini for his wonderful support.
Please support Franco by clicking here or on the donate button below to make a donation to Child Action Nepal
Please note the website accepts donations from most credit cards in GB £. As a guide £10 is equal to approximately €12.50, £50 is equal to approximately €62.50, and £200 is equal to approximately €250.
