Press Release
20 July 2001 World biker arrives in North America A round the world motorcyclist starts the North American leg of his trip of a lifetime on Sunday 22 July. Simon Milward, a 36 year old Briton, arrives in Anchorage Alaska from Magadan in Russia’s North East. Magadan Airways are sponsoring this continental crossing. Milward left England on 1st January 2000 and the USA will be the 28th country on his global adventure. He has ridden 72,000km through Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Indonesia, Australia, SE Asia, Japan and Russia. Some memorable experiences en route include a marriage proposal at Cairo’s pyramids, meeting the Dalai Lama in India, escaping marauding militants in Timor, serious accidents in Saudi Arabia, Nepal and the Australian Outback, riding through the front lines of a civil war in Laos and most recently nearly drowning on Russia’s flooded Road of Bones. There is a serious side to Milward’s trip of a lifetime. He aims to raise $100,000 for two medical charities. One is Doctors Without borders, which recently won the Nobel Peace Prize, the other is Riders for Health, specialising in healthcare delivery to out of reach regions by economical motorcycle. His primary aim in North America is to find sponsorship for twelve motorcycles for use in a new project in Indonesian Flores. This introduces a proven African idea to Asia. Yamaha has kindly offered a 30% discount at $1000 per motorcycle. The value of medical aid sponsorship he has raised so far is nearly $25,000. Milward’s motorcycle, the John T Overlander, was handmade in the UK in 1999 from 90% donated parts and equipment. It uses a 600cc single cylinder engine from Austria, a huge 45 liter Italian fuel tank, and a French internet tracking system. As former General Secretary of the Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations, Milward has been invited to address several North American conferences on the subject of global motorcyclists’ rights. Companies and organisations donating sums larger than $200 are entitled to a sticker on the bike and a link on the internet. Individuals donating $20 receive a special pin badge and regular en route email updates. Donations can be made via www.millennium-ride.com, or if you see a strange looking bike on the continent’s highways, flag him down, thrust some dollars in his face and demand a badge. North American sponsors so far include the South Suburban Chapter of ABATE of Illinois, American Motorcyclist Association, Canadian Motorcycle Association, North American Motorcycle Union, Harley Davidson and Tesoro the petrol distributor. ABATE of Alaska are helping out with various arrival matters and Metal Magic, the State's best welders, have offered to repair his aluminium boxes which have suffered severe damage.
A number of fundraising events are being planned throughout the continent.
He enters Canada on 28th July and Washington State on 17 August. See
www.millennium-ride.com/events for details. If your groups wishes to invite
Milward along for an interesting event email him on |
