Geoff Ballett's Charity Ride Progress
Launch 8th September
We will be tracking the course of Geoffs route to the Sahara on the map below, with his comments and pictures taken along the way...We wish him all the best on his great journey for two great causes, Cancer Research and Msaada.
Saturday 8th September,
Geoff's Launching Pictures
11:00a.m.- Fantastic support from family, friends and the public at the Town Hall in Shaftesbury buying final raffle tickets, making donations and offering well wishes.
12:05p.m.- Raffle was drawn by representatives of Cancer Reasearch UK as well as the Deputy Mayor of Shaftesbury. Total of 33 prizes in all thanks to kind donations from TIBS, Yalumba Wines and many local businesses. Lots of local winners including 1st prize of the 50cc scooter being won by Mr Paul Luffman of Shaftesbury, Dorset. Called him as soon as the raffle was completed. Paul didn't believe me at first, but when he realised he had won he was so happy he was left speechless!
1:00p.m.- Here we go! Headed off on the journey to a big round of applause and cheers from the crowd that had gathered to bid farewell in Shaftesbury. I was even given a police motorcycle escort out of the town by PC Kevin Adlem (photos to follow) which recieved lots of smiles, waves and tooting of car horns as we made our way. He even stopped the traffic on the roundabout to let me go on my way!!
7:00p.m. - Final fundraising event before I depart at the Woodman in Branksome.
11:00p.m. - boarded the ferry from Poole Quay to Cherbourg, France. Lovely night by the quay - fresh breeze but calm seas.
Sunday 9th September,
6:30a.m. - Arrived in Cherbourg. Good smooth crossing, but only managed 2 hours sleep. Cool crisp morning but looks like it is going to be a nice day.
8:30a.m. - Arrived in St Lo, France (aprox 90km south of Cherbourg) to refuel the scooter and stretch the legs. Heading for Rennes and on to Nantes where I plan to stop for the evening.
4:30p.m. - Arrived 20km outside Nantes to stop for the night after approx 320km and 2 hours sleep in 36 hours. Good response all the way and one English couple have taken contact details so they can make a donation when I return to the UK. Hope to get a good sleep tonight and make an early start for Bourdeux in the morning.
Monday 10th September,
8:00a.m. - Packed up and ready to depart for Bourdeax. Cold night and dewy. Might have to wear an extra layer tonight! Got a decent sleep after a bite to eat and hot shower. Looks like the weather should stay fine today. Good camp site and found some Brits to chat too! Journey so far has been rather "roady" but hope to get more into the countryside as I head south. Good lay-by's with lots of trees - good place to rest. Bike doing well so far - will top her up with oil before I head off again.
7:00p.m. - Interesting start to the day negotiating the ring roads of Nantes in the dark and fog early this morning - bit like going around Arc de Triomphe in Paris! Have now reached Bordeaux safely after another long but rewarding day. Was going to check into a camp site just north of Bordeaux but they didn't have any drinking water or power and the "residents" stared at me like I was dinner (!!), so have travelled on further south to find another site for the night which I am told has cabins and tents (fingers crossed this one has water and power too!!). Met up with two local motorcycle police today and had a good chat and lots of support and encouragement! Got a good photo of them so will email it back when I can!
Tuesday 11th September,
The wee small hours of Tuesday morning: Well Monday ended up being a very long day in the end. After leaving the camp site in Bordeaux, I ended up having to travel a lot further than anticipated and ended up in Bayonne, near the coast about another 190km further on! Roads were really quiet which was great, except for a dead fox on the road which nearly sent me into a serious wobble when my back tyre went over him! Managed to stay upright though and arrived at a decent camping site in Bayonne in the early hours of this morning and thankfully could set up camp for the night. Rest day tomorrow!!
7:30a.m. - Woken up by BBC Radio Solent breakfast show for a live interview on my progress, but thankfully was back to sleep in no time!! Had a fairly reasonable sleep but woke with a whopper of a headache. A very welcome shower soothed it somewhat and a good meal will perk me up again. I will spend the afternoon resting and tinkering with the bike (oil change and the like). I now know the meaning of the "loan traveller". Missing home and family but determined to carry on! Original plan was to head for Lourdes, but will carry on to Zaragoza tomorrow I think.
Wednesday 12th September,
8:00a.m. - Had a good rest yesterday and slept well last night. Have decided to head for Burgos then down to Madrid, rather than via Zaragoza.
5.30p.m. - Spain is very different to France in terms of landscape. Very dry and brown, rather than the lush green of France. The trip down from has been good so far apart from the lorry drivers on the ring roads around San Sebastian! Trying to go around with lorry mirrors not far from my head and giving you little to no room is not much fun! The ride through the hills was great if not hair raising, the views were fantastic and I passed three vehicles for the first time! A tractor and two lorries! Roads aren't the best so have stuck to main roads to conserve tyres. Even some of the main ring roads have been freshly graded and are rather rough with all the lorries using them. Have arrived at Costajan camp site at Aranda De Duero, 80km south of Burgos. Warm welcome from Juan Carlos who speaks 7 languages! Sandy undulating ground with lots of olive & pine trees. Will have to have a shave as I am getting that well travelled look! Put up tent (a.k.a The Hilton) in the company of many flies as it is quite a warm evening. Made a cuppa before having a long shower then giving the bike the once over (a.k.a. "Wilson" after Tom Hanks "friend" in Castaway!) Bit of an oil leak, but keeping an eye on that. Will have an early night as it has been a long day on the road battling the lorries! Heading south of Madrid in the morning and hope to stop somewhere between Valdepenas and Jaen, just over half way between Madrid and Granada. The days are long and with Gods grace we will get there, this is by no means holiday!!
Thursday 13th September,
1:00p.m.Headed off early this morning from Aranda De Duero with a reasonable run, until the last 100km which have been hell with lorry drivers giving me stick and no room. Ring road around Madrid is 6 lanes wide and no one pays attention to road rules at all - it is a major free-for- all!
5:30p.m. - The camp site just south of Madrid that I was heading for is no longer there according to a local policeman I bumped into at a service station. Pressed on further south towards St Elena and just as I was coming down the mountain range a huge thunderstorm hit! Nowhere to pull of on the mountain roads so had no option to continue. Roads were like white rivers and the thought of aqua planning on a scooter was a scary prospect! Thankfully Wilson served me well and we found a bus shelter where we could wait until the storm passed.
6:00p.m. - Thunder and lightening is directly overhead now & getting more violent by the minute. Rain is getting heavier too. Yet to decide whether to laugh or cry! Will be interesting putting a tent up in this!! I am sure I will think back to this moment and laugh!
8:30p.m. - Once lightening had passed, pressed on in the heavy rain and found a cheap hotel. Couldn’t put a tent up in this even if I wanted to! Feel bad as I should be camping, but I guess it is only for one night. Did a total of 550kms today and ache like I don’t know what. Throttle arm and shoulder is feeling the distance! Hot shower will warm me up again as I got a bit wet!!
Friday 14th September,
7:30a.m. - Up and ready to go. Bit cloudy today, but rain seems to have passed. Heading for Malaga.
12 noon - About 2 hours from Malaga. Had some rain through the last mountain range but not too bad. Sun has come out again now and I am starting to dry out. Think I might stop around the Marbella area, somewhere between Fuengirola and Estepona. Up and ready to go. Bit cloudy today, but rain seems to have passed. Heading for Malaga.
2:30p.m. - Just past Marbella and looking for a suitable site to camp. Have been given a few suggestions by locals, but directions seem to be sending me around the houses a bit! Will stop at a servo in a bit instead of going in circles!
5:30a.m. - Found the campsite in Fuengirola eventually after asking an English couple for directions and got the tent set up. Bought some water then checked the bike over before a nice hot shower and something for tea. Army ration meal wasn’t too bad actually! Oxtail soup – lovely and thick and quite filling with a locally made baguette! Camp site is quite big and rather nice. Lots of families and couples on holiday which made me miss home quite a bit. Got my first glimpse of the Med today with the edge of Spain and Morocco just over the water. Should be around Algericas tomorrow so I can get my ferry ticket and insurance for Morocco and might treat Wilson an oil change!
Saturday 15th September,
7:30a.m. - Didn’t sleep that well as my shoulder is still giving me stick. Feels quite cold which is quite a strange sensation. Been up just over an hour and about to start packing up and off to get a ferry ticket for Morocco.
11:00a.m. - Got my ticket and just need to get insurance when I get inside the port or when I dock over near the Moroccan / Spanish border tomorrow morning.
1:30p.m. - Found a lovely campsite near Tarifa overlooking the sea about 22kms on from Algericas. Can see Morocco from here! Put up the tent and checked over Wilson. Took some pictures (will email some when I can) and video around the area. Speaking to Tania on the mobile was interesting to say the least as to get good reception I had to stand in the ocean at one point!!
6:30p.m. - Pair of police officers patrolling the area for anyone that shouldn’t be there stopped for a chat as they clocked the British plate on the bike. Had a nice chat with them and conversation turned to what I was doing and they expressed real concern that I was travelling alone. Said there has been a bit of unrest over there and that there have been a couple attacks on loan European travellers in areas of Morocco that I am proposing to go. Will ask around in the morning when I get to the docks and see what I can find out.
Sunday 16th September,
Well, to cut a long story short, after spending an exhausting day asking lots of questions and talking to the police, border control guards, the insurance firm, locals, other travellers, etc both at the port in Algericas and over in Ceuta, on the Spanish Moroccan border in North Africa, I have been delivered some really bad news. Everyone has serious reservations about insuring me as a lone traveller and allowing me to travel into Morocco alone due to general unrest and various property disputes in some of the areas I was going to travel through following the recent local elections. I have been very strongly advised not to continue on as they consider it to be just too dangerous on my own right now. What can I say. I am absolutely gutted. I have explored every option available to me, even to the extent of hooking up with someone locally who is going my way or flying a companion out from the UK, but to no avail. To tempt fate when there is such high risk in some areas would be foolish, so I guess it is back to Tarifa on the Spanish mainland to consider what to do now. Feeling pretty low I must say.
Monday 17th September,
After a sleepless night, I have picked myself up and decided that I am not going to let this bad news beat me. If I can’t travel into Morocco, I have no choice but to come up with plan B. After spending many hours thinking over the situation, talking with family and friends for advice and pouring over my maps both last night and again this morning, I have come to realise that my goal was to travel solo on a 125cc scooter over a total of 7000km to raise money for two charities close to my heart – the destination itself, whilst a personal goal of my own, was secondary really. With that in mind, I have plotted a new route that will take me up through Portugal, back into northern Spain, across the Pyrenees then up through central France in a big figure 8, visiting the capital cities of each country along the way. I have travelled 3000kms already and will still cover the distance that I set out to achieve whilst travelling a route that will be just a challenging as what I would have encountered in Morocco. So folks, it is onwards and upwards! No one is going to stop this boy from achieving his goal and raising that money for such worthwhile causes! Have changed Wilson’s brake pads, fixed my boots with duct tape and plastered up my sore shoulder ready for the off first thing in the morning. The new adventure starts tomorrow!
Tuesday 18th September,
7:30 a.m. - Up and off towards Cadiz this morning then heading for Jerez (maybe they will let me do a lap of the circuit!) and around to Faro.
11:00am - Just outside Seville and hope to stop somewhere around Tavira just inside Portugese border. (Country number 3.5!) Would have liked some time to stop in Seville as it looked quite nice. Next time! Race circuit at Jerez was closed so Wilson and I continued on.
4:00pm – Roads much better in Portugal than they have been in Spain and as a result got a lot further that anticipated today. Stopped at a camp site in Quarteira about 15kms further on from Faro. Campsite is very big and looks OK, but not too many people about. Think I will put tent up, check Wilson, then have a shower followed by a “nice” M.O.D. tea!!
Wednesday 19th September,
7:30 a.m. – Another early start this morning. Lots of dogs barking at the campsite last night which kept me up a bit. Making my way to Lisbon today, then hope to start to cut across Portugal and back up into Spain.
9:00am – Ploding on, Wilson isn’t doing too bad, but not like he has been, so gentle does it. I think the long journey and mountain roads have taken their toll a little bit.
11:00am – Hmmm? Looks like I am in a bit of strife. I’m in a service station and Wilson is not feeling very happy. Not sure what the problem is as yet. Feeling rather exhausted.
11:50am – Found the problem and have nearly fixed it. Nothing major. I think Wilson was just feeling tired and needed a rest! Will have a coffee and a bit of a rest myself then be on my way.
1:00pm – Well, perhaps Wilson was trying to tell me something earlier on today. I was not far out of Grandola, about 100km south of Lisbon, and decided to take one of the more minor roads and get off the freeway for a while. I was traveling along just fine and had just joined a round-about to head back to a petrol station I passed a little while back when everything went pear shaped. As I was going around the round-about I saw a blue van out of the corner of my eye approaching from a slip road off the freeway. Next thing I knew he was flying past right in front of me (and on his b*** mobile phone no less) giving me little option - try to avoid him or go underneath him. I braked and tried to get around the back of him but Wilson dug in and over the handlebars I went. The next thing I remember is another biker looking down at me and the sound of sirens approaching. Apparently the blue van was nowhere to be seen.
2:30pm – Strapped to a trolley in Santiago hospital and freaking out just a bit. I have been examined and given various jabs and they are now waiting to take me to X-ray but I just want to call Tania. Finally get the message through and I am wheeled to the top floor of the hospital to get reception on my phone. So good to hear her voice and calms me down. Feel like I have let everyone down though and trying to think of a way to carry on.
4:30pm – Nothing broken thanks to the grace of God, but the pain in my knee, back and wrist is bad. I have pulled and torn muscles in all three and they think I may have chipped the bone in my wrist. Have been given strong pain killers and told that I am not to ride or work for at least two weeks. Thank God I am still here. Realize now that I was silly to think I might be able to continue. Gutted, absolutely gutted. Have been discharged from the hospital on the condition that I do not ride. Don’t even know where poor Wilson is at the moment. I have nothing but my mobile phone and what I am wearing. Police must have all my papers, etc. Hospital arranged a taxi to get me back to the police station in Grandola.
5:30pm – Wilson is in a storage compound In Grandola near the police station, looking a little sad. Broken mirror and front guard, scratched casings and fluid everywhere. Not as bad as I thought he would be, but breaks my heart to see him like that. That little bike has done a brilliant job and never let me down once. If only I could get my hands on that b*** van driver! Feeling rather wobbly and vision going a bit. Police take a statement and give all my belongings back. One of them said something about what I was doing this trip for and shook my hand. Very humbling.
6.30pm – the police and taxi driver got me to a local hotel that Tania emailed me details of (thanks to her work colleague Vicky for finding it so quickly), made sure I got a good rate and helped me with my bags to my room. They have been absolute stars – such kind people. My thoughts have turned to my family at home and our little baby due in just 7 weeks time. I might be battered and bruised but I thank the heavens above that I am still here. That is down to the people who stopped to help me on that round-about, the doctors, hospital staff, taxi driver, police, hotel staff and Wilson – thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thursday 20th September,
8:00am – Finally managed to get to sleep at about midnight last night. Have woken feeling very stiff and sore just about everywhere. Pain killers seem to have helped quite a bit but at times it gives me stick if I move without thinking. Spend the day resting in bed. Vision is a bit blurred. Got a bit worried when I rest my hand on my chest to find two extra nipples! To my relief I find that the hospital have left the heart monitor patches on my chest! Phew! Thought the medication was starting to get to me there for a moment!
2:30pm – Police called by to see how I was getting on. They are investigating and will do all they can, but I don’t hold out much hope. Apparently there is a high incidence of hit and run around these parts. Will send paperwork on later as it all takes time. They wished me well once again. I just want to get home now. Have been advised to rest for at least 24 hours. Hotel have offered to help me repack when I am ready and order me a taxi. The people are so good here, I cannot praise them enough for their kindness. Need a bath – this will be interesting!! Hope I don’t get stuck!
Friday 21st September,
10:45am – Another night of rest and a good breakfast at the hotel and I am ready to move on. Tania has arranged a flight home for me tonight from Faro. I know I should probably rest here for another day or two, but just want to get home to my family. The entire staff of the Hotel Dom Jorge Lencastre appear in the lobby to wave me off and wish me well. What can I say. I will bring Tania back here one day as it is a beautiful little town and the people are so caring and friendly. Warms the heart.
12:11 noon – aboard the train to Faro. Taxi driver was a star and helped me with my bags and once on board 4 lads that were returning from the football in Lisbon gave me a hand too. Feel a bit vulnerable as I only have my motorbike gear to wear (space and weight is a priority when traveling on a little scooter) and the backside is torn in my trousers! Get a few looks, but more of curiosity and sympathy than anything else.
2:20pm – arrive in Faro and make my way to the airport. Haven’t had to lift a thing as everyone is willing to give a helping hand. Go to the Monarch check-in desk to see about seating on the plane so I can stretch out a bit if possible. The young lady is ever so helpful and promises to do what she can when her supervisor arrives at 4pm. Grab a drink and somewhere comfy to relax until my flight.
8:20pm – finally aboard the flight home! Mixed emotions. Got front row seats and three to myself so I could put my leg up! What stars the airline have been. Feel down about not completing the trip and leaving Wilson behind, but elated that I will see my family again soon. One thing I do know is that I will one day complete what I set out to do. Perhaps on a slightly bigger bike so I am not as vulnerable on the road and with a mate, but I will complete the journey.
Saturday 22nd September,
11:00am – after a long day yesterday it was wonderful to see Tania at the airport and get back to the hotel near Gatwick. Sleep was somewhat disrupted with the pain in my back and knee, but rested well into the morning which I am sure did us both the power of good. Looking at my bike gear this morning and reflecting back on what happened, I again realize how lucky I was. My lid is all scratched up across the visor and down one side and my trousers have a big tear in the backside (must have caught on something as I skidded) and there are scorch and graze marks all up the legs. One of the knee pads is quite dented too and my trusty old boots have taken quite a beating and will now be retired to the shelf. I am just so glad I was wearing quality gear – it saved my life. I cannot stress the importance of the right protective gear when you are riding, be it a little scooter or a bigger bike.
5:30pm – Home at last. Feels surreal and I am still full of mixed emotions. Will take some time to heal and get my head back into gear I think after being so focused on my goal, but I am working hard to focus on the positives of this trip as there were many more of them than negatives. I will complete this trip one day and thank those who have graciously supported me and the charities so far and hope that they and others will continue to do so to try to raise as much for Cancer Research and Msaada as we can.
Signing off for the time being, but watch this space!!! I will keep you informed about Wilson and future fundraising events until it comes time to present the charities with the money we have raised. If anyone would like to help, please do get in touch.
