From Keith Hopkins (In case anyone is interested in the origins of the Group, and the idea behind it.) Myself and Judith, my wife, first had the idea of following in Ewan McGregor's and Charley Boorman's footsteps    more »

Hi,

Hopefully everyone is back and settled into normal life again after the eventful trip we all had. I got up early this morning and went to the bike and started to load the gear up for an early start to try and get a good 130 in before breakfast try and break it's back before lunch, then I realized it's only 35 miles to work anyway.

Just wanted to say thanks to all who took part in the trip and made it another memorable one, thanks to Norman Jnr and Norman Snr who are 2 of the funniest men I've ever met and when the chips were down and the seriousness of Butch's situation became obvious Norman Jnr was their to help whilst we got an ambulance sorted. Between me Norman and Chris we arranged for Butch to be flown back to the UK for further treatment through his insurance etc many phone calls back and forth, Norman Snr thought he had an easy journey home on the back of my trusty Pan European but he volunteered to ride Butch's BMW back home after a tumble in the car park in Kiev and another latter in the day Norm found his feet and brought it back home safely.

The riding was hard work and their was pressure on every day to get to the hotels, again everyone pulled together to make sure we got their as a group without anybody getting lost ( at least until I shot off back early to the UK ) Routes and roads in the southern Ukraine were interesting to say the least it was tough riding and very very warm which didn't help matters but again we  pulled together as a team and made it work without incident.

I could think of a few stories to tell that stand out but we would be here for ever so I'll save them for a pint with anybody who wants to listen to me.

Once again thanks to everyone who took part I'd like to be able to call all of you friends, maybe we could do something again in the future !!!!!

 

Andy Lawton

After rising with the sun to get in plenty of miles, we have lost two of our team members.  I am now stood at the end of the motorway waiting for the two lost souls.  A slight cock-up at the entrance to the motorway was the problem.  So, now sat in the sun drinking lots of water and waiting.

 

Richard Halhead has got Gandhi’s revenge, so all rest stops are accepted.

 

Heading up to Switzerland this evening where I will be checking out my bank account.  I have arranged to meet the bank manager at the border.

 

A good night was had by all in Lake Garda. I swam the lake and went further than I thought.  35 miles to be exact.  Also, I could not touch the bottom. 

 

Tasted some of the local red wine and as per usual it worked well.  The doctor said the grazing on my knees will soon heal.

 

Bye for now to the bloggers.

 

Norman

Richard Halhead, our Managing Director, showed his true leadership skills leading us out of the city of Graz.  [In fact the story goes he was the only one with a SatNav working]. 

 

One of the highlights of the trip is Johnny Boy riding his KTM all the way and nothing has dropped of it yet. 

 

We have now come over the mountains into Italy and I am looking forward to my first taste of Italian vino - and I might throw a pizza in with that.

 

The temperature is soaring to over 100 degrees and I am again sweating like a Russian weight lifter.

 

No problems with any of the machines.   365 miles done today and my bison’s a**e is working well.

 

After dictating this blog in a motorway services whilst consuming water like the proverbial camel, we have another 100 miles to do and then I am going to swim in Lake Garda.

 

On arrival in Austria

After a mission through Poland and Germany and having arrived in the Ukraine, I have successfully learnt how to fall off a motorcycle.  My world famous parachute roll has at last come in handy.  Having caught the team up after some small problems with my BMW motorcycle [with everyone accusing me of putting diesel in it] I have now picked up a bit of the Ukrainian language and now have successfully learnt how to drink Ukrainian beer.  I located a restaurant in Kiev which successfully served me sausage, egg and chips - so the Ukrainian culture is everything I expected it to be.

I am at the moment in Vienna and have two museums to do and an art gallery and am looking at this moment in time for some Old Spice aftershave for my wife. 

Temperature is unbelievably hot and am sweating like a Russian weight lifter. 

Good bunch of blokes I am with apart from one who comes from Sheffield.  He is everything I thought Sheffield people were - drinks too much and is a bit gobby.  I have followed Richard Halhead through the Ukraine and Austria he is the only bloke I know who can have a hand held telephone permanently stuck to his ear whilst on the bike.

Nothing else to report at the moment.

About to taste the Austrian cuisine - having pizza.

 

 

We have just arrived in Vienna it is very hot and Norman has his Captains hat on again.  We stayed in a beautiful spa village in Slovakia last night and took the motorway across the border into Austria.  We are heading for Graz and hope to be in a bar for the important Germany v Turkey semi final! 

 

So far today there have been no breakdowns or hours spent at Border crossings and Norman has not dropped the bike for two days. 

 

The trip through the Ukraine was fantastic and showed how different rural Ukraine is from the cities.  Everyone in the poor agricultural areas waved to us and was very friendly and the countryside was fantastic with nesting stalks on top of lampposts and old ladies tending their individual cows by the side of the road. 

 

So far on the mechanical front two Hondas and a Triumph have had electrical faults and Norman’s lost a bearing on the BMW. 

 

Mosquitoes are everywhere and some of us have had to have blood transfusions to replace what the mosquitoes have taken! 

 

So, for now, over and out.  Hope Germany wins!

I have just had a brief call from Richard Halhead. They are just going back through the Ukrainian border but there is a long queue.  According to the itinerary they are riding through Slovakia today. Captain Norman has got through the border luckily!!

They had a long ride yesterday in the heat because they got lost and spent 13 hours travelling.

 

Richard Halhead rang early this morning (Monday). He said that it is very hot and they have already had a long ride from Kiev and are approaching the Caspian Mountains.

Richard is now riding the Fuchs BMW and Captain Norman (see photos that Richard sent back) is riding pillion on his sons bike. It seems they make quite a team.

Just a note, whilst checking the spelling of pillion I came upon the definition of the word. It seems it is derived from the Gaelic word "little rug".. Now I am not saying anything about Normans wonderfully curly red hair but......

admin

 

 

News is leaking through to me that Norman and Butch are now back with the main group in Kiev, It would seem that there was a small but important problem with the documentation for the bike that Norman was riding. This was relating to the fact that the bike is registered to Fuchs Lubricants (UK) plc and not to Norman directly. This didnt actually matter until Norman tried to enter a country outside of Europe, the Ukraine.    more »

Normans Blog:

Norman Burgess phoned me a short while ago from the Ukraine border to give me a quick update for the blog.

He tells me that so far, since they started out on Saturday, it has been an arduous ride but thankfully without incident. However, he tells me that they have had to fight torrential rain continually, which I suppose has dampened the spirits a little. But he says that they are a great bunch that he is riding with and are supporting each other well.

So far they have travelled through France, Germany and Poland. Last night they stayed in Krakow and Norman tells me that unfortunately for the beautiful Polish girls of Krakow, who seem to swoon around him, his Polish wasn't quite up to scratch enough and they couldn't understand the Clitheroe charm. Personally I think he has just been riding too much.

I asked Norman whether he thought there would be any problem getting through the Ukraine border and he tells me that officials just keep wandering around shaking their heads saying "this is difficult", so we will have to see.

He says that he will try to write a blog entry soon but that currently it is is taking quite a while to cream up all the blisters and sores (I dread to think) when they stop at the hotels.

More soon

Thanks to Alex Halhead for the collection of photos that he took at the start of the run. The bike ride is now underway and the riders are making their way across Europe. We obviously wish them all the best of luck.

You can see where they are or should I say where they are known to have reached by clicking here the line in yellow is the route so far covered.

As soon as I get any information about the trip, I will post it straight away.

admin

me and my big mouth, didn't sound to bad a bit of a run out to that kiev, I have watched the london to brighton run on telly and that looked pretty straight foward, but when the nurse was driving a syringe into my arm, and advising me to watch out for the dodgy coporation pop, (water ) to my middle class bloggers,I thought oh! oh! anyway my Y fronts and socks are packed and the big off tomorrow    more »

done my thing in scotland, suppose some people would call it work, she ran like a dream, me and my steed are one, Ukraine or wherever I am ready. picked up £750 worth of beer tokens for the charity the first day, I knew the trade would back me, Think a lot of the bread was given to me through the fact sympathy was required   more »

After fathoming out how to start the thing and under great threat from my guvonor not to bend it, I now have the beauty, a steady trot up the M6, a few gear changes, un gentlemanly jestures to those ruddy car drivers, ( I used to be one) me and the steed are one, Ukraine or wherever it is watch out,   more »

Our very own Norman Burgess called in at our Hanley plant today to collect the bike. This will probably be ...   more »

Guys, you may want to make a note of the following number 07891716438. This is a mobile number that we ...   more »

the trip is not long away so I decided to check out a country that drives on the wrong side of the road. I felt that I needed to know which way to look turning right and left etc. We were staying at a friend's apartment in Cannes and were arriving at the end of the film festival. The trip started badly as the flight was delayed for over two hours and the plane provided was a very old 757 that looked as if it had come out of the californian desert where old planes get sent to die!    more »

At this late stage I would like to thank our sponsors for the trip to Kiev.

Rotherham Glass and Glazing, Chris Nicholson

Driver Hire Burton, Andy Lawton

Fuchs Lubricants, Richard Halhead

CMC Motorcycles Chesterfield, Mark & Ross Feltham

Eddie Stobart

Driver Hire Nationwide, Chris Chidley

 

Our sponsors have in general donated money to the charity for which we have to say thank you very much it will all go to a very good cause. Some of the sponsors who are riders and are taking part in the trip as well have not only donated money but considerable time and effort to ensure the trip is possible by organising various aspects of the trip from hotels, route planning, Hi-Vis Vests and numerous other essential points again my thanks go out to you.

 

Andy Lawton

Treasurer Kids In Kiev

Open the attached document for a list of Russian translations that I have been sent. The document is in the pdf format so you will the Abode Acrobat reader.    more »

We have received a pdf file containing the route of the trip in detail. To read the document you will ...   more »

the levels of my mechanical incompetence continue to exceed my wildest expectations...   more »

Hello to all, Well time is ticking on, the days are getting less and less until the big day. It's only 6 weeks and the bikes will be all packed up and ready to go.    more »

Details of the hotels that the riders will stay during the Kids in Kiev trip.   more »

This year, FUCHS UK will be following in the famous footsteps of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, with two employees ...   more »

Check out the new photos of the bike as it begins its first journey..   more »

4000 miles i can't even make it 30! I waited patiently at the woolley edge services having braved the yorkshire rain, hail and snow. 10 came and went and so did 10.30 so I assumed that people had decided not to turn up so i headed back from the services cafe to the car park and said rain.......    more »

Check out the picture of the BMW in the photos album. Keen television viewers and wannabe globetrotters will be aware ...   more »