Motorbike ride to Mongolia to aid prostate cancer charity
A MOTORCYCLIST is embarking on a 40,000 kilometre charity bike ride from York to Mongolia in a bid to raise cash for sufferers of the cancer that turned his friend’s life upside down.
Jonathon Parish will endure temperatures ranging from the 30Cs to the -30Cs and will tackle mountains, forests, glaciers, volcanoes, lakes and deserts when he sets off on his Honda 125cc motorcycle this June.
He will set off from York and take in France, Scandinavia and Siberia before dropping down in to Mongolia and returning via Kazakhstan and Eastern and Southern Europe.
Mr Parish, of Diamond Street, York, said it was when he became stranded while hitchhiking across Australia two years ago that he became inspired to do the epic fundraising challenge in aid of a prostate cancer charity.
He said: “I was stranded in the Aussie bush hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town, I had been standing by the side of a dusty old highway for six hours, my water bottle was nearly empty and the temperature was in the 40Cs.
“I have never been much of a worrier, but believe me, I was beginning to panic.
“I was relieved when finally I saw a cloud of dust on the horizon and realised that an old pick-up truck was approaching. I stuck out my thumb and put on my best and most convincing sad face.
“The truck pulled up alongside and he was a guy in his 30s and he told me his name was Mike and he was a miner. He ended up giving me a six-hour ride and along the way we chatted and it turned out he’d done a lot of travelling too; he’d been trying to get to Mongolia the year before, but he’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer. This put a stop to his travels and he’d had to return home.
“It was heartbreaking hearing about everything he was going through and how his life had been turned upside down. Eventually, I got back from Australia and returned home, and decided to make a trip to Mongolia for my mate Mike who sadly couldn’t make it that far.”
After planning his route, Mr Parish said he decided to make the journey all the more challenging by doing the trip on a 125cc bike.
“This is the sort of bike you might commute to work on or pop down to the shops on, but not a lot more than that,” he said. “This should be by far the world’s longest journey on a 125cc motorcycle.
“I have written to Guinness World Records to enquire if this could be a world record for longest journey on a 125cc bike. It turns out there is not a category yet for a 125cc, only a 50cc so they are looking in to making a new category.”
Mr Parish is hoping to raise as much money for Prostate Cancer Charity as possible and is looking for sponsorship.
Jonathon Parish will endure temperatures ranging from the 30Cs to the -30Cs and will tackle mountains, forests, glaciers, volcanoes, lakes and deserts when he sets off on his Honda 125cc motorcycle this June.
He will set off from York and take in France, Scandinavia and Siberia before dropping down in to Mongolia and returning via Kazakhstan and Eastern and Southern Europe.
Mr Parish, of Diamond Street, York, said it was when he became stranded while hitchhiking across Australia two years ago that he became inspired to do the epic fundraising challenge in aid of a prostate cancer charity.
He said: “I was stranded in the Aussie bush hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town, I had been standing by the side of a dusty old highway for six hours, my water bottle was nearly empty and the temperature was in the 40Cs.
“I have never been much of a worrier, but believe me, I was beginning to panic.
“I was relieved when finally I saw a cloud of dust on the horizon and realised that an old pick-up truck was approaching. I stuck out my thumb and put on my best and most convincing sad face.
“The truck pulled up alongside and he was a guy in his 30s and he told me his name was Mike and he was a miner. He ended up giving me a six-hour ride and along the way we chatted and it turned out he’d done a lot of travelling too; he’d been trying to get to Mongolia the year before, but he’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer. This put a stop to his travels and he’d had to return home.
“It was heartbreaking hearing about everything he was going through and how his life had been turned upside down. Eventually, I got back from Australia and returned home, and decided to make a trip to Mongolia for my mate Mike who sadly couldn’t make it that far.”
After planning his route, Mr Parish said he decided to make the journey all the more challenging by doing the trip on a 125cc bike.
“This is the sort of bike you might commute to work on or pop down to the shops on, but not a lot more than that,” he said. “This should be by far the world’s longest journey on a 125cc motorcycle.
“I have written to Guinness World Records to enquire if this could be a world record for longest journey on a 125cc bike. It turns out there is not a category yet for a 125cc, only a 50cc so they are looking in to making a new category.”
Mr Parish is hoping to raise as much money for Prostate Cancer Charity as possible and is looking for sponsorship.
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