Hi,
Well the end of the year is drawing ever closer and it seems an age since I was in India on the final part of my Tri-Dangerthon.
Well sad that it is, this is the final post for this blog and I would just like to thank everyone that helped make this happen, my wife and family for supporting me and to all that sponsored and donated. The final total was £6,400, a little shy of my £10k target but a amazing amount all the same. So thank you once again.
So it's time to move on to pastures new and as I have had a year out from fundraising, I feel it's now time to go again. This time it is a full on fitness endurance challenge and yet again I'm looking for people mad enough and this time fit enough, to join me. To find out more about how you can get involved or just donate head over to -
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Friday, 19 February 2010
What the Papers Say.....
Hi,
Well it's great to be back in Blighty and back into full flow again. The trip was absolutely fantastic and I have now had time to reflect on what I saw, heard, smelt and felt while we blasted our way through 2500km in 10 days. I've made some life long friends and had some life changing experiences.
Please take a look at What the Papers Say and here is the link to all my photos for you to enjoy.... Click Here
Click on image to enlarge.
Check back soon for more updates and you can still donate if you haven't already. Thank You.
Rich
Well it's great to be back in Blighty and back into full flow again. The trip was absolutely fantastic and I have now had time to reflect on what I saw, heard, smelt and felt while we blasted our way through 2500km in 10 days. I've made some life long friends and had some life changing experiences.
Please take a look at What the Papers Say and here is the link to all my photos for you to enjoy.... Click Here
Click on image to enlarge.
Check back soon for more updates and you can still donate if you haven't already. Thank You.
Rich
Saturday, 6 February 2010
The Final Days.....
It is now Saturday and the trip is over. We arrived at Lake Song, Kottayam at around 4.30pm to the sound of Indian drums playing and dancers dancing. It was very emotional and everyone was congratulating each other on the epic journey that we had just completed.
So let’s go back to day 6 where I last left off. We were about to leave Mysore and head for the Jungle Huts in Masinagudi. We were going into the jungle!! We passed through the towns of Nanjangud, Gundulpet, which the team thought there was a conspiracy going on there, as there had been an incident involving locals the past few years. Hangala and Toppakad were places we also rode through. We stopped off for lunch at a very nice roadside restaurant, before making way. The journey was a short 120km that took us through Tiger and wildlife reserves. Arriving at the Jungle Huts at around 5pm. We were now about 3000ft above sea level in the middle of a jungle.
Tuesday was rest day at the Jungle Huts and so we made the most of not having to get on the bikes. There were those that spent the day by the pool and others that were reading in the shade. I think for all though, it was a time to reflect on what we had all achieved so far and anticipation and excitement at what was still to come. The 3 of us along with a lady called Maud took an elephant trip in the late afternoon. We clambered into the waiting Jeep and went to the elephant reserve. On the way we stopped off to see a massive bull elephant being washed and scrubbed in the river. A talk on Tigers and their preservation was given that evening and then earlier night was had before the next day’s riding.
Wednesday and we’re back on the road and heading towards Kodai. The towns we passed on the way were, Ooty, Kotagiri, Mettupalayam, Annur, Somannur, Palldam, Dharapuram and Palani. A very long ride today of 295km. The first couple of hours were very cold and my fingers felt frozen. The roads were reasonable today and mainly tarmac. There were some twisty roads at the beginning of the day, with some straight highway across the planes in the middle. I came very close to having quite a big ‘off’, as on these fast straights at around 90kmh my back tyre had a blowout. The bike fishtailed down the road, almost throwing me off. I managed to hang on and bring it under control but don’t ask me how. I waited for the support vehicle who quickly changed the back wheel and a way I went again. The day ended with more twisties as we climbed up to 8000ft to what was the only US hill station in India during the war. It was a beautiful location and very well received by all after such a long day.
Up again very early for another long day of 300km. Today we’re heading through the tea plantations and more of the Ghat Mountains on what is the most beautiful day of the whole journey. Our destination was Thekkady. Passing through the towns of Udumalpet, Chinnar, Munnar, Pulianmalla and Kumli. The scenery was absolutely amazing and the pictures I have do not do it justice, it has to be seen to be believed. We had a number of stops along the way and even spent 20 mins laying on boulders in a mountain stream with my feet in the cold fresh water. Ahhh! The roads were very twisty with hairpin bends, which made for a fantastic day of riding too. We arrived in the dark at the hotel, 4Km short of Thekkady and I had to follow in Paul as the bulb that had been replace in my headlight still didn’t work. We had a well deserved dinner and beer on the roof terrace and chatted about the day we’d just had.
The Final Day! It seems to a flown by but at the same time I seem to have been riding this trip for ever. Leaving Thekkady and heading back down the mountains towards Lake Song, Kottayam. Coming down and the temperature began to rise and became very hot towards the end. In fact most were agreeing that it was the hottest day of the trip. 190km covered over some good roads and continuously beautiful scenery. We stopped off for a bite to eat before riding on again to the first meeting point 20km before the finish. We waited there in the stifling heat for all the bikes to arrive and then regrouped again 3km from the end destination. It was amazing to be part of that and to see all those bikes revving and their riders sounding the horns as we made a way through the town towards the resort. People were waving and the children were cheering. We had made it! 1100km on a classic design motorcycle in some extreme conditions. As for the bike, The Royal Enfield Bullet, it was the perfect bike for the event.
So there we are, my Tri-Dangerthon is almost complete. Apologises for there being no pictures this time but it's took me over 2 hours to get this posted. (connection not good) I will be back with a couple more posts and pictures over the next few days. For now I am just chilling and contemplating and I can’t wait to fly back and see my gorgeous wife and family.
You can still Donate and all your support is much appreciated. Please click on Donate Button throughout this blog. Thank you.
Cheers
Rich
So let’s go back to day 6 where I last left off. We were about to leave Mysore and head for the Jungle Huts in Masinagudi. We were going into the jungle!! We passed through the towns of Nanjangud, Gundulpet, which the team thought there was a conspiracy going on there, as there had been an incident involving locals the past few years. Hangala and Toppakad were places we also rode through. We stopped off for lunch at a very nice roadside restaurant, before making way. The journey was a short 120km that took us through Tiger and wildlife reserves. Arriving at the Jungle Huts at around 5pm. We were now about 3000ft above sea level in the middle of a jungle.
Tuesday was rest day at the Jungle Huts and so we made the most of not having to get on the bikes. There were those that spent the day by the pool and others that were reading in the shade. I think for all though, it was a time to reflect on what we had all achieved so far and anticipation and excitement at what was still to come. The 3 of us along with a lady called Maud took an elephant trip in the late afternoon. We clambered into the waiting Jeep and went to the elephant reserve. On the way we stopped off to see a massive bull elephant being washed and scrubbed in the river. A talk on Tigers and their preservation was given that evening and then earlier night was had before the next day’s riding.
Wednesday and we’re back on the road and heading towards Kodai. The towns we passed on the way were, Ooty, Kotagiri, Mettupalayam, Annur, Somannur, Palldam, Dharapuram and Palani. A very long ride today of 295km. The first couple of hours were very cold and my fingers felt frozen. The roads were reasonable today and mainly tarmac. There were some twisty roads at the beginning of the day, with some straight highway across the planes in the middle. I came very close to having quite a big ‘off’, as on these fast straights at around 90kmh my back tyre had a blowout. The bike fishtailed down the road, almost throwing me off. I managed to hang on and bring it under control but don’t ask me how. I waited for the support vehicle who quickly changed the back wheel and a way I went again. The day ended with more twisties as we climbed up to 8000ft to what was the only US hill station in India during the war. It was a beautiful location and very well received by all after such a long day.
Up again very early for another long day of 300km. Today we’re heading through the tea plantations and more of the Ghat Mountains on what is the most beautiful day of the whole journey. Our destination was Thekkady. Passing through the towns of Udumalpet, Chinnar, Munnar, Pulianmalla and Kumli. The scenery was absolutely amazing and the pictures I have do not do it justice, it has to be seen to be believed. We had a number of stops along the way and even spent 20 mins laying on boulders in a mountain stream with my feet in the cold fresh water. Ahhh! The roads were very twisty with hairpin bends, which made for a fantastic day of riding too. We arrived in the dark at the hotel, 4Km short of Thekkady and I had to follow in Paul as the bulb that had been replace in my headlight still didn’t work. We had a well deserved dinner and beer on the roof terrace and chatted about the day we’d just had.
The Final Day! It seems to a flown by but at the same time I seem to have been riding this trip for ever. Leaving Thekkady and heading back down the mountains towards Lake Song, Kottayam. Coming down and the temperature began to rise and became very hot towards the end. In fact most were agreeing that it was the hottest day of the trip. 190km covered over some good roads and continuously beautiful scenery. We stopped off for a bite to eat before riding on again to the first meeting point 20km before the finish. We waited there in the stifling heat for all the bikes to arrive and then regrouped again 3km from the end destination. It was amazing to be part of that and to see all those bikes revving and their riders sounding the horns as we made a way through the town towards the resort. People were waving and the children were cheering. We had made it! 1100km on a classic design motorcycle in some extreme conditions. As for the bike, The Royal Enfield Bullet, it was the perfect bike for the event.
So there we are, my Tri-Dangerthon is almost complete. Apologises for there being no pictures this time but it's took me over 2 hours to get this posted. (connection not good) I will be back with a couple more posts and pictures over the next few days. For now I am just chilling and contemplating and I can’t wait to fly back and see my gorgeous wife and family.
You can still Donate and all your support is much appreciated. Please click on Donate Button throughout this blog. Thank you.
Cheers
Rich
Sunday, 31 January 2010
India Is Amazing....
> Well I’ve now been in India for a week and this is the first time I’ve been able to get an internet connection! This means that I’ve got quite a bit to tell you about what we’ve done since we’ve been here. When I say we, I mean myself and my two room mates I met on the first day.
So let’s start there. I flew from Heathrow on Sunday 24th Jan, arriving in Mumbai on Monday 25th. We then had a short flight from Mumbai to Goa. On arriving in Goa I then had my first taste of India with a hot and dusty bus ride which took about an hour to the hotel where we stayed for the first 2 nights.
Here I met Les and Paul for the first time. Les is from Liverpool and Paul is from Hertfordshire. It felt a bit like going into the Big Brother house for the first time and meeting the new house mates.
On the Tuesday we had our first outing on the bikes. A short 35km run to Arambol Beach and back. This gave us chance to get to know the bikes and in particular the unusual gear and rear brake setup. For any of you that don’t know the Royal Enfield has the brake and gears the opposite way to other bikes, so getting used to changing gear with my right foot was a bit of challenge to begin with. The fact that my bike had a fuelling problem and the clutch was slipping didn’t help!
Wednesday was our first long ride of approximately 160km from Country Clube De Goa in Anjuna to San Francisco Beach Huts at Palolem Beach. Going through the towns of Ponda, Molem, Kolem, Netrolem and Canacona. This broke us in gently while we still accustomed ourselves to the bikes. The roads were mainly tarmac with a small off road section of loose gravel and sand. As we were room mates Les, Paul & I agreed to team up and ride together. The beach huts when we arrived were, well, I’ll let you decide for yourself from the pictures. However, the beach was beautiful and after taking a dip in the sea, we sat and watched the sunset with a beer around the campfire, while ‘Doc’, one of the medics, played the guitar and sang.
Thursday was a 250km trip Murudeshwar, visting the towns of Karwar, Ankola, Yana, Osakambi, Sirsi, Kumla. Les had a small spill and broke the brake lever and bent his foot rest but other than that we managed to stay on route saw some beautiful scenery and arrived in Murudeshwa around 5pm. The Hotel here was luxury compared to the beach huts we had stayed in the night before. Murudeshwa was a small town with a picturesque bay and also has the largest Shiva staue in the world. That was an amazing sight.
On Friday morning we took off from Murudeshwa at 7.30am heading for the town of Shimoga. The trip was a gruelling 200km with the majority of that on some very arduous rough mountain roads. I’m talking about large, loose stoney roads with sharp up and down hill inclines. It was Pauls turn to have an ‘off’ and he hurt his thigh and chest in the process. Fortunately Les was right behind him and helped him out until the medics arrived.I had gone on in front and was unaware what was happening behind me. I waited at the next stop for about an hour until they turned up. We visited the largest falls in India, Jog Falls and the towns of Sagar and Ayannur. In Sagar Paul broke down and within minutes we were surrounded by curious locals. The rest of the journey went well and we arrived in Shimoga around 5.30pm. This town doesn’t usually see tourists and so we got a lot of inquisitive stares. After dinner we went into the town on a Tuk Tuk and we also experienced a local barber as you can see by my hair. The head message that barber also offered was very relaxing after the day we had had.
Shimoga to Kalasa, a trip of 180km was Saturdays journey. The roads we better today and we went through the towns of Muthodi, Balehonnur, Magundi. No accidents but Les’s bike broke down 3 times which put us back about 2 hours. Again we saw some unbelievable scenery and arrived at our destination in the dark and on top of that I had no lights! I followed in one of the team leaders for the final 5km! We didn’t look around Kalasa as we were staying a few Km outside at a hillside resort. Here we had dinner and again sat around a campfire with the Doc playing the guitar. Dormitories was the nights sleeping arrangements and at around 1.30am I woke up to the sound of around 30 other blokes snoring!
Sunday took us from Kalasa to Mysore a journey of 250km. After the first 120km of mountain roads, twisting through the tea plantations, we stopped for lunch before heading out on to the highway. From there on it was fast main roads which enabled us to tank on. Passing through the towns of Mudigere, Belur and Hassan. At this point I would just like to say that we are getting used to the road system and rules here in India but none of us can believe it. The rules appear to be – drive on the left, sound your horn at anyone in front of you, overtake whenever you like even if something is coming the other way and pull out of junctions when there is traffic coming! It makes it very interesting and just a little scary at times. All the villages that we pass through the children come out to the side of the road to wave to us as we go by. They get really excited and are jumping up and down and smiling and waving. We arrived in Mysore city around 5pm at a very luxurious hotel. (nice to have a little comfort) We went straight out to see the illuminations at the palace and then back for dinner. After dinner Unicef gave us a presentation. Paul and Les then went to have a look around the city and I just chilled out and chatted to some of the other riders on the trip.
It is now Monday morning as I type this and we are not setting off until 12pm today. A shorter trip of 120km a head of us to The Jungle Huts,. Masinagudi. There is a safari park there and we are spending 2 nights, giving us a rest day before the last 4 days of approximately 300km per day.
That’s it for now, not sure if I will get another connection or not but if I do I will post some more. Please don’t forget the causes that I’m doing this for and any amount of donations will be fantastic. Thankyou.
Rich
Sunday, 24 January 2010
The Morning of Depature....
.....Aaagghhh, it's the morning of the day I fly to India. I can't believe it's here!
Here is a very short vid (before I'm even out of bed) ......
That's it for now, Click Here to Donate - Thank You
Rich
Here is a very short vid (before I'm even out of bed) ......
That's it for now, Click Here to Donate - Thank You
Rich
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
5 Days and Counting...
Hi All,
Isn't it funny how the week before you go away everything goes beserk! With making sure I've remembered all that I need and getting work sorted out before I go, I think that's why it always seems manic, my head is spinning more than normal.
Well there are now only 5 days left before I fly and the nerves I beginning to kick in. It's also funny that whenever you're about to do something, buy something or go somewhere that has any significance you begin to see it everywhere. I was driving home last night and passed a pub called India. Last night on the TV was Gordon Ramsay travelling around, India and the night before Secret Millionaire had a special episode from...guess where, yep, India! Weird or what?!
Anyway, just a short one this time but I'll be back with a video update on Saturday, the day before I fly!
Isn't it funny how the week before you go away everything goes beserk! With making sure I've remembered all that I need and getting work sorted out before I go, I think that's why it always seems manic, my head is spinning more than normal.
Well there are now only 5 days left before I fly and the nerves I beginning to kick in. It's also funny that whenever you're about to do something, buy something or go somewhere that has any significance you begin to see it everywhere. I was driving home last night and passed a pub called India. Last night on the TV was Gordon Ramsay travelling around, India and the night before Secret Millionaire had a special episode from...guess where, yep, India! Weird or what?!
Anyway, just a short one this time but I'll be back with a video update on Saturday, the day before I fly!
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
12 Days To Go
Only 12 days to go until I fly out to India. Please check out the video for more details.
Click Here to make a donation. Thank you for your support.
All the best,
Rich
Click Here to make a donation. Thank you for your support.
All the best,
Rich
Friday, 8 January 2010
The Donation Post
Hi,
I am setting this post up so that it will now be the main Donating Post for anyone who would like to support me and the charities that I'm raising money for. This makes it easier for people to follow the link directly to a donate button, rather than trying to search for one throughout this blog.
If this is your first time here and your not sure what your donation would be going to then please Click Here to find out more about what a Tri-Dangerthon is and the 4 Charities that it's helping.
All that is left to say for this post is....
All the best,
Rich
I am setting this post up so that it will now be the main Donating Post for anyone who would like to support me and the charities that I'm raising money for. This makes it easier for people to follow the link directly to a donate button, rather than trying to search for one throughout this blog.
If this is your first time here and your not sure what your donation would be going to then please Click Here to find out more about what a Tri-Dangerthon is and the 4 Charities that it's helping.
All that is left to say for this post is....
Please Donate as Much as You Can by clicking on the Donate Button below.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
All the best,
Rich
India Trip Itinerary Days 7 to 13
Hi,
Here is the itinerary for the 2nd part of the journey, days 7 to 13.
Day 7
An early wake up call will be tough for some to deal with this morning as the aches and pains of the last few days start to take hold. Today is another long and demanding ride as we make our way to Mysore, ancient summer seat of the Raj. Mysore is a city much more used to tourists due to it’s regal status, proud history and beautiful buildings.
Day 8
Mysore to Masinagudi is a beautiful and short day’s riding. It’s dense tiger reserves, huge wild elephant populations and friendly villagers make this a memorable and exhilarating place to ride. It’s the day’s destination however, that makes this such a special experience. The Jungle Hut guest house is nestled in the Mudumallai tiger reserve and the scenery and wildlife are out of this world.Day 9
Rest and recuperation at Jungle Hut, this off bike period will give us time to reflect on our very special surroundings and is also good for the bikes, as it gives the mechanics a proper chance to service them after their testing ride.
Day 10
We leave the beauty of Mudumallai behind and head off up the mountain to Ooty, once there we tackle one of the most amazing rides in India, another secret road that Enduro India have special permission to ride. This ‘road’ doesn’t appear on any maps and certain stages have been closed to foreigners since the 1960’s. Riding this road – and it’s 100 hairpin bends is one of the most amazing and challenging stages on the rally. Not to be rushed, riding on earth doesn’t get much better than this. Today sees us finish at Kodaikanal. Kodaikanal was the only American hill station under British rule and still maintains a strong international presence with it’s famous Kodai school. It’s also set up for tourists with shopping and email facilities available. The food here is also fantastic and there are many Tibetan immigrants. The road from Palani to Kodai is one of the most memorable on earth.
Day 11
First we leave Kodai and spend 2 hours descending the beautiful and high mountain. Then we hit the stunning wildlife sanctuary of Indira Gandhi and Chinnur, with their awesome switchbacks and great tarmac. The views here are wild in the extreme, we will never be far away from big cats, elephants, bears and Hyenas. After this stunning stage and just when you thought it couldn’t get any better we hit the tea country and Munnar national park.
Day 12
Today we have a nice easy ride through the tea towards the fragrant spice plantations of Thekkady. Nestled in the most amazing tiger reserve in south India is our hotel. Today is a true half day and that offers us the chance to go shopping, drink a cold beer or visit the stunningly beautiful Periyar tiger reserve.
Day 13
Today will be an emotional day as it's our last of riding. We travel past one of Indias biggest Arch Dams and tackle the tricky roads of the Idukki wildlife reserve towards our nights stop at the amazing city of Kottayam. I must be prepared for a very emotional ride in, on the now famous final stretch of Enduro India.
So they are the outline details of of where I am going to be each day to give you some idea of what I will be facing. My plan is to send Live feeds via #richinindia on twitter as often as possible throughout each day of my journey and to also post my thoughts and feelings of each days events on here at the end of every day, as long as we have internet connection available.
As always, please scroll down to the nearest Donate Button and give as much as you can to these fantastic causes. Thank You.
All the best
Rich
Here is the itinerary for the 2nd part of the journey, days 7 to 13.
Day 7
An early wake up call will be tough for some to deal with this morning as the aches and pains of the last few days start to take hold. Today is another long and demanding ride as we make our way to Mysore, ancient summer seat of the Raj. Mysore is a city much more used to tourists due to it’s regal status, proud history and beautiful buildings.
Day 8 Mysore to Masinagudi is a beautiful and short day’s riding. It’s dense tiger reserves, huge wild elephant populations and friendly villagers make this a memorable and exhilarating place to ride. It’s the day’s destination however, that makes this such a special experience. The Jungle Hut guest house is nestled in the Mudumallai tiger reserve and the scenery and wildlife are out of this world.
Day 9 Rest and recuperation at Jungle Hut, this off bike period will give us time to reflect on our very special surroundings and is also good for the bikes, as it gives the mechanics a proper chance to service them after their testing ride.
Day 10
We leave the beauty of Mudumallai behind and head off up the mountain to Ooty, once there we tackle one of the most amazing rides in India, another secret road that Enduro India have special permission to ride. This ‘road’ doesn’t appear on any maps and certain stages have been closed to foreigners since the 1960’s. Riding this road – and it’s 100 hairpin bends is one of the most amazing and challenging stages on the rally. Not to be rushed, riding on earth doesn’t get much better than this. Today sees us finish at Kodaikanal. Kodaikanal was the only American hill station under British rule and still maintains a strong international presence with it’s famous Kodai school. It’s also set up for tourists with shopping and email facilities available. The food here is also fantastic and there are many Tibetan immigrants. The road from Palani to Kodai is one of the most memorable on earth.
Day 11
First we leave Kodai and spend 2 hours descending the beautiful and high mountain. Then we hit the stunning wildlife sanctuary of Indira Gandhi and Chinnur, with their awesome switchbacks and great tarmac. The views here are wild in the extreme, we will never be far away from big cats, elephants, bears and Hyenas. After this stunning stage and just when you thought it couldn’t get any better we hit the tea country and Munnar national park.
Day 12
Today we have a nice easy ride through the tea towards the fragrant spice plantations of Thekkady. Nestled in the most amazing tiger reserve in south India is our hotel. Today is a true half day and that offers us the chance to go shopping, drink a cold beer or visit the stunningly beautiful Periyar tiger reserve.
Day 13
Today will be an emotional day as it's our last of riding. We travel past one of Indias biggest Arch Dams and tackle the tricky roads of the Idukki wildlife reserve towards our nights stop at the amazing city of Kottayam. I must be prepared for a very emotional ride in, on the now famous final stretch of Enduro India.
So they are the outline details of of where I am going to be each day to give you some idea of what I will be facing. My plan is to send Live feeds via #richinindia on twitter as often as possible throughout each day of my journey and to also post my thoughts and feelings of each days events on here at the end of every day, as long as we have internet connection available.
As always, please scroll down to the nearest Donate Button and give as much as you can to these fantastic causes. Thank You.
All the best
Rich
Saturday, 2 January 2010
What's a Hashtag and How can you use it to Follow my Journey?
Hi Everyone,
Since I announced on twitter what the Hashtag would be to enable you to follow me on my journey through India, I have been asked What is a Hashtag and How do you use it? So here is an explanation and details to get you started -
Firstly if you haven't got an account on Twitter then you will need to sign up for one, it's free and easy. Once you have an account you can then follow me by clicking on 'follow me on twitter' half way down the right hand column on this blog.
So, what is a hashtag? It is a way of being able to organise specific topics and events on twitter into one group. Once a tweet includes a hashtag it can then be easily found by typing in the hashtag into 'twitter search' and anyone can send a tweet including the hashtag so that it shows up within that group. Let's just go back one step and explain what a tweet is for those that have just or are about to set up a twitter account. A tweet is a short message of no-more than 140 characters which is posted on your twitter page for anyone who is 'following' you to see. I'll leave it at that for now but just to let you know that you can send your tweets to other sites such as facebook, so they're a very handy way of typing a short message once and then having it displayed in numerous sites. Cool Eh!
Now that you know what a tweet is, what the heck do you tweet about? Well anything and everything. Let's give you a couple of examples - earlier I sent a tweet saying I was playing on the Wii with my son. Why? you may ask. I look at twitter as a way of 1. expressing myself 2. for others to get to know who I am, what I like and what I do and 3. providing information. By doing this, people will be able to relate to me, get to know me and trust me. From this point onwards a mutually beneficial relationship maybe formed for friendship, business or both. Once I have finished this post, I will then tweet that there is an update to my blog and you may be reading this due to the tweet I sent. So there are many different reasons why you would tweet and all I would say is embrace it, sign up to it and give it time. You will soon see the benefits.
Hopefully you now have a better understanding of twitter and tweets, so we'll now carry on with How to use Hastags. Let's take the hashtag I have created for my trip across India -
#richinindia - this can now be typed within a tweet, so that it will then be grouped with all the other tweets with that hashtag in. For example -
I may post a tweet - 'very hot today and covered 100 miles' this would just go out as a standard tweet and wouldn't be easily searchable or be assigned to anything specific. However if I typed - '#richinindia very hot today and covered 100 miles' this will now be assigned to the group of tweets that includes #richinindia. It will be easily searchable and anyone would be able to reply or add their own comment by including the same hashtag.
(side note: the hashtag may be typed anywhere within the tweet, not neccessarily at the beginning)
So that hopefully explains what are and how to use hashtags. If you're still unsure or are unable to find my stream of tweets with the #richinindia hashtag, then please get in touch and I'll do what I can to help.
Just to conlude, here is are the 4 steps you need to take to follow and interact with me -
1. sign up to Twitter
2. Follow me
3. type #richinindia into search on your twitter page
4. send a tweet with #richinindia included
I hope this helps and look forward to hearing from you on my journey.
All the best,
Rich
Since I announced on twitter what the Hashtag would be to enable you to follow me on my journey through India, I have been asked What is a Hashtag and How do you use it? So here is an explanation and details to get you started -
Firstly if you haven't got an account on Twitter then you will need to sign up for one, it's free and easy. Once you have an account you can then follow me by clicking on 'follow me on twitter' half way down the right hand column on this blog.
So, what is a hashtag? It is a way of being able to organise specific topics and events on twitter into one group. Once a tweet includes a hashtag it can then be easily found by typing in the hashtag into 'twitter search' and anyone can send a tweet including the hashtag so that it shows up within that group. Let's just go back one step and explain what a tweet is for those that have just or are about to set up a twitter account. A tweet is a short message of no-more than 140 characters which is posted on your twitter page for anyone who is 'following' you to see. I'll leave it at that for now but just to let you know that you can send your tweets to other sites such as facebook, so they're a very handy way of typing a short message once and then having it displayed in numerous sites. Cool Eh!
Now that you know what a tweet is, what the heck do you tweet about? Well anything and everything. Let's give you a couple of examples - earlier I sent a tweet saying I was playing on the Wii with my son. Why? you may ask. I look at twitter as a way of 1. expressing myself 2. for others to get to know who I am, what I like and what I do and 3. providing information. By doing this, people will be able to relate to me, get to know me and trust me. From this point onwards a mutually beneficial relationship maybe formed for friendship, business or both. Once I have finished this post, I will then tweet that there is an update to my blog and you may be reading this due to the tweet I sent. So there are many different reasons why you would tweet and all I would say is embrace it, sign up to it and give it time. You will soon see the benefits.
Hopefully you now have a better understanding of twitter and tweets, so we'll now carry on with How to use Hastags. Let's take the hashtag I have created for my trip across India -
#richinindia - this can now be typed within a tweet, so that it will then be grouped with all the other tweets with that hashtag in. For example -
I may post a tweet - 'very hot today and covered 100 miles' this would just go out as a standard tweet and wouldn't be easily searchable or be assigned to anything specific. However if I typed - '#richinindia very hot today and covered 100 miles' this will now be assigned to the group of tweets that includes #richinindia. It will be easily searchable and anyone would be able to reply or add their own comment by including the same hashtag.
(side note: the hashtag may be typed anywhere within the tweet, not neccessarily at the beginning)
So that hopefully explains what are and how to use hashtags. If you're still unsure or are unable to find my stream of tweets with the #richinindia hashtag, then please get in touch and I'll do what I can to help.
Just to conlude, here is are the 4 steps you need to take to follow and interact with me -
1. sign up to Twitter
2. Follow me
3. type #richinindia into search on your twitter page
4. send a tweet with #richinindia included
I hope this helps and look forward to hearing from you on my journey.
All the best,
Rich
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
The India Trip Itinerary
Well I hope you have all had a fantastic Christmas and are gearing up to some spectacular New Year celebrations. I have had a lovely time with my family and this New Year we will be at my sister-in-laws with the kids, just having a good time and playing games. We will no doubt then watch the fireworks in London on the TV and then, dependant on children, either go home or celebrate some more.
One thing I would urge you all to do though is set at least one goal that you want to achieve in 2010 and then go out and make it happen. How do you think I ended up here? Without goals and then Action, you're dreams will always remain just that....dreams. So make 2010 the year that at least one of your dreams comes true! :-) To learn how to set your goals in such away that you have no choice but for them to happen see my blog www.richvincent.me where in the next couple of days I will be posting how I set mine and what they are for the coming year.
So on to the up coming trip and the final part of my Tri-Dangerthon. 2500km across India on a Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle. Here is the itinerary for each day -
Day 1
Arrive in India and chill out for the rest of the day, meet the team in the evening.Day 2
Warm up day, this day enables us to get used to the Indian traffic and the idiosyncrasies of the Royal Enfield.Day 3
Today is designed to break us all in gently, this rally stage sees us tackle a beautiful and demanding stretch of the western Ghat mountain range on our way to Palolem, our first nights destination. Palolem is one of Indias most beautiful beach resorts; During the riding day we will encounter mountains every bit as spectacular as the Himalayas, just with lots and lots of forest and no snow peaks, due to the reduced altitude. Today is short in length to give us a chance to build confidence. It is a stunning and remote ride. Very rough accomodation and a breathtaking location tonight - the rally has begun.Day 4
The second day is longer and more demanding but feels no harder due to the fact we are becoming more confident on our bikes and the forest trails and mountain passes are becoming less daunting. Today’s ride is quite simply mind-blowing as we wind our way on and off road all the way over the mountains and back to our nights stop point at a truly secret cove, looking out to the Arabian sea.Day 5
Today we start off with a short stretch of highway, which by Indian standards is very quiet, we then take some beautiful winding roads up the mountains stopping for lunch at Indias highest waterfall; Jog Falls. Once we’re refreshed we’ll crack on towards our final nights stop, a bustling Indian city of Shimoga. Shimoga sees no tourists whatsoever, and therein lies it’s fascination for us – it is one of the rare places on earth you can see a city totally unaffected by tourism. It is eye opening and extremely friendly, it is probably one of the only places on earth where the owner of a petrol station asks you in for a coffee!Day 6
If there was an awards programme for the worlds best rides this day would be up right up there. It’s so good it’s almost too much for the mind to take in. We will bike up and down roads that haven’t been used by traffic for decades – at some stages we may have to send a chainsaw gang in before we tackle it, as nature has taken it’s hold so firmly. Cautious and progressive are the terms appropriate on these stages, as the scenery is awesome but the road conditions changeable. We finish this tough day with the sun setting behind us as we chase shadows all the way to the incredible mountain resort of Kalasa nestled in the vast Elephant area of Kudremukh National Park.
So that's the first 6 days of the trip, it sounds absolutely amazing doesn't it. I really can't wait but I'm also getting quite nervous and apprehensive, which is great, as I can now feel the adrenaline really starting to well up inside :-)
Please check back shortly for days 7 to 12 and details of how you can follow me on the whole journey!
All the best
Rich
PS Please scroll down to a DONATE button and show you're support by giving whatever you can. Thank You
One thing I would urge you all to do though is set at least one goal that you want to achieve in 2010 and then go out and make it happen. How do you think I ended up here? Without goals and then Action, you're dreams will always remain just that....dreams. So make 2010 the year that at least one of your dreams comes true! :-) To learn how to set your goals in such away that you have no choice but for them to happen see my blog www.richvincent.me where in the next couple of days I will be posting how I set mine and what they are for the coming year.
So on to the up coming trip and the final part of my Tri-Dangerthon. 2500km across India on a Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle. Here is the itinerary for each day -
Day 1
Arrive in India and chill out for the rest of the day, meet the team in the evening.
Day 2 Warm up day, this day enables us to get used to the Indian traffic and the idiosyncrasies of the Royal Enfield.
Day 3 Today is designed to break us all in gently, this rally stage sees us tackle a beautiful and demanding stretch of the western Ghat mountain range on our way to Palolem, our first nights destination. Palolem is one of Indias most beautiful beach resorts; During the riding day we will encounter mountains every bit as spectacular as the Himalayas, just with lots and lots of forest and no snow peaks, due to the reduced altitude. Today is short in length to give us a chance to build confidence. It is a stunning and remote ride. Very rough accomodation and a breathtaking location tonight - the rally has begun.
Day 4 The second day is longer and more demanding but feels no harder due to the fact we are becoming more confident on our bikes and the forest trails and mountain passes are becoming less daunting. Today’s ride is quite simply mind-blowing as we wind our way on and off road all the way over the mountains and back to our nights stop point at a truly secret cove, looking out to the Arabian sea.
Day 5 Today we start off with a short stretch of highway, which by Indian standards is very quiet, we then take some beautiful winding roads up the mountains stopping for lunch at Indias highest waterfall; Jog Falls. Once we’re refreshed we’ll crack on towards our final nights stop, a bustling Indian city of Shimoga. Shimoga sees no tourists whatsoever, and therein lies it’s fascination for us – it is one of the rare places on earth you can see a city totally unaffected by tourism. It is eye opening and extremely friendly, it is probably one of the only places on earth where the owner of a petrol station asks you in for a coffee!
Day 6 If there was an awards programme for the worlds best rides this day would be up right up there. It’s so good it’s almost too much for the mind to take in. We will bike up and down roads that haven’t been used by traffic for decades – at some stages we may have to send a chainsaw gang in before we tackle it, as nature has taken it’s hold so firmly. Cautious and progressive are the terms appropriate on these stages, as the scenery is awesome but the road conditions changeable. We finish this tough day with the sun setting behind us as we chase shadows all the way to the incredible mountain resort of Kalasa nestled in the vast Elephant area of Kudremukh National Park.
So that's the first 6 days of the trip, it sounds absolutely amazing doesn't it. I really can't wait but I'm also getting quite nervous and apprehensive, which is great, as I can now feel the adrenaline really starting to well up inside :-)
Please check back shortly for days 7 to 12 and details of how you can follow me on the whole journey!
All the best
Rich
PS Please scroll down to a DONATE button and show you're support by giving whatever you can. Thank You
Sunday, 27 December 2009
Testing 1 2 3 Testing.....
Just playing with my new laptop and the connection to the net using my mobile phone. Getting ready for the trip and ensuring that I can connect using this method and type a blog. While I'm typing this I have disconnected so as not to use up too much time which will cost a fortune out in India! So I am now about to connect again and see if this post will then be uploaded.
Hopefully you will be reading this and it will have been successful :-)
I Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you all.
All the best,
Rich
Hopefully you will be reading this and it will have been successful :-)
I Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you all.
All the best,
Rich
Monday, 21 December 2009
The Route Across India...
In Aid of
Hi All,Well here is the first of details that I will be posting over the next few weeks about the trip that I will be taking across India In January 2010. This is the 3rd and final part of my Tri-Dangerthon and I can't believe what I year I have had with this and the fact that India is now only 1 month away!
Below is a map of the route that we will be taking over the 12 days of riding. We will be covering 2,500km on varied terrain. Some days we could be riding for up to 10 hours + and I just hope and pray that the little Royal Enfield's that we will be riding, hold out. The reason that these bikes have been chosen for the trip is that they are still built brand new in India today to the same design that they were when they were originally built in England back in the early 1900's. In fact, Royal Enfield built there first motorcyle in Redditch, Worcestershire in 1901 and they have been built continously until this day. This makes Royal Enfield the oldest motorcycle company in the world and the Royal Enfield Bullet (the bike that we will be riding) the longest production run model.
Of course and as always we don't want to forget the reasons why I'm doing this, so here are the links for you to check out the charities that I'm raising for -
Downs Syndrome Association / Unicef / Rainbow Childrens Charity / WCS
Please, please check out those links they are well worth looking at and then scroll down to any of the donate buttons throughout this blog to make your contribution. Thank You, it is very much appreciated.
click on image to enlarge
So that's the route and I'll be posting further details in the run up to the trip. I also hope to post at the end of each day while I'm out there, so that you can see how we're getting on and hear all about our challenges as they happen.
That's it for this time. I will be back between Christmas and New Year so all that leaves me to say is .....
Have a very Merry Christmas, eat, drink and be merry!!
Best wishes
Rich
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
It's Me...On The Radio!! :-)
In Aid of
Hi,
This is the interview of Moi on The Morning Show on BBC Radio Lincs, talking about my Tri-Dangerthon. While you're listening, why not take a look around the rest of this blog.
You can Donate by clicking on any of the donate buttons throughout this blog. Thank You.
All the best,
Rich
Saturday, 5 December 2009
Invited Back to Talk on Radio Lincs :-)
In Aid of
Hi All,
Just a quick update for now to let you know that Judy Theobald from The Morning Show on BBC Radio Lincs has invited me back on to discuss my India trip. This is fantastic news and I feel very honoured to be asked back. It is also a great opportunity to let more people know about the fundraising I've been doing and will help me to push towards achieving my target of £10,000 for these 4 amazing charities.
If you're in the Lincs region then you will be able to listen at around 10.30am this coming Monday morning 7th December on 94.9FM or 104.7FM.
You can also listen to the show on BBC iplayer. The Morning Show.
As I said just a quick one this time but in the next week I shall be posting a more detailed blog about what the trip across India will have in store for me. So please check back regularly and if you can donate any amount it would be very much appreciated.
I have raised £6211 so far and have just £3789 to go to hit my target, Please, Please, Please help me to achieve that.
THANK YOU
All the best,
Rich
Rich
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Only 3 Months Until India !!
In Aid of
Hi All,
Please take a look at the latest video update -
Or if you have a notebook computer that you would like to donate for me to be able to report back to Jamie's school, please get in touch by clicking here.
All the best until next time,
Rich
All the best until next time,
Rich
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Interview On BBC Radio Lincs
In Aid of
Hi Everyone,
Here is the interview on the Judy Theobald Morning Show.
The Wheelie Day...
In Aid of
Hi All,Here's the video of the Wheelie Day at Jimmy Fireblades Wheelie School. We had a fantastic day, the weather was fine and warm and I achieved the 25 metre target I was aiming for. So for all of you that sponsored me per metre, times the amount by 25 and thank you for your sponsorship.
For anyone that still would like to sponsor me you can do so by clicking the link below.
For anyone that still would like to sponsor me you can do so by clicking the link below.
Thank you to those that came along to watch me and also to the professional photographer, John from Track Side Photography, who spent most of the day with us taking shots of us all attempting to wheelie and of Jimmy 'showing off' :-)
So, please take a look at the days events and unfortunately the battery on the camera ran out before the end of the day, which was when I managed to cover the 25 metres! Yea, I know, some of you are now going to be saying 'yea, yea' and all that but you'll just have to believe me ;-)
So, please take a look at the days events and unfortunately the battery on the camera ran out before the end of the day, which was when I managed to cover the 25 metres! Yea, I know, some of you are now going to be saying 'yea, yea' and all that but you'll just have to believe me ;-)
Please Donate Here
Thanks again and until next time,
All the best,
Rich
All the best,
Rich
Monday, 24 August 2009
Wheelie Sponsorship Per Meter....
In Aid of
Hi Everyone,
Just back from my 2nd day of training on how to pull a wheelie, at the Jimmy Fireblade Wheelie School. First off this is taking longer to type than normal as my arms and particularly my left wrist are hurting very muchly :-( This isn't due to the front wheel coming down to hard, although that did happen on occassions but more due to the constant use of the clutch for 6 hours. Pulling it in, flicking it out, pull in, flick it out, in, out, doing that for any considerable amount of time, certainly takes it's toll on the tendons in the wrists and arms. Ouch!
Other than that the day went really well and I can now consistantly lift the front end pretty much at will. The other guys that were there were great and we all got on and encouraged each other. The weather stayed fine all day but it did get hot out on the airfield in our leathers, as we were only moving along at 50mph tops all day.
I have certainly improved from day one and my confidence is a lot higher and I feel more comfortable on the bike with the front wheel in the air. I now need to concentrate on being able to change the gear while the front wheel is up!
It is only 2 weeks until I attempt to travel as far as I can on the back wheel and I would like to do 25 meters or more. I am going back to see Jimmy next week for a little further tuition on my own bike and will be getting in as much practice as I can, between now and the 7th September.
To Sponsor Me Per Meter
Click Here
State the amount you would like to sponsor (per meter) and I will then contact you after the event to let you know how well I did and give you the link to make your payment. Thank You.
Click Here
State the amount you would like to sponsor (per meter) and I will then contact you after the event to let you know how well I did and give you the link to make your payment. Thank You.
That's it for now as I really can't type much more. Look forward to hearing from you and I will post another video shortly.
All the best,
Rich
All the best,
Rich
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