Rich Vincents' Tri-Dangerthon 2009/10

Thank You & Here We Go Again....

2010-10-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

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 -

FitFour Challenge 2011

Look forward to seeing you over there.

All the best,

Rich

What the Papers Say.....

2010-02-19T00:14:00.000-08:00

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

The Final Days.....

2010-02-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

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

India Is Amazing....

2010-01-31T20:07:00.000-08:00

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 24^th Jan, arriving in Mumbai on Monday 25^th. 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. ereH 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

The Morning of Depature....

2010-01-24T01:25:00.001-08:00

.....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

5 Days and Counting...

2010-01-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

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!

To Donate Click Here. Thank You

All the best,

Rich

12 Days To Go

2010-01-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

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

The Donation Post

2010-01-08T12:22:00.000-08:00

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....

Please Donate as Much as You Can by clicking on the Donate Button below.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

All the best,

Rich

India Trip Itinerary Days 7 to 13

2010-01-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

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

What's a Hashtag and How can you use it to Follow my Journey?

2010-01-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

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

The India Trip Itinerary

2009-12-30T07:37:00.000-08:00

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

Testing 1 2 3 Testing.....

2009-12-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

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

The Route Across India...

2009-12-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

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

It's Me...On The Radio!! :-)

2009-12-08T14:31:00.000-08:00

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

Invited Back to Talk on Radio Lincs :-)

2009-12-05T10:42:00.000-08:00

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

Only 3 Months Until India !!

2009-11-01T06:42:00.000-08:00

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

What The Papers Say....

2009-11-01T04:56:00.000-08:00

Click on the clippings to enlarge -

Interview On BBC Radio Lincs

2009-09-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

In Aid of

Hi Everyone,

Here is the interview on the Judy Theobald Morning Show.

The Wheelie Day...

2009-09-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

In Aid ofHi 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.

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 ;-)

Please Donate Here

Thanks again and until next time,

All the best,

Rich

Wheelie Sponsorship Per Meter....

2009-08-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

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.

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

The Skydive Video

2009-08-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

In Aid of

Skydive @ UK Parachuting
7th August 2009
The Video Evidence!

Filmed by: Logic Video and PID Adventure Sports @ UK Parachuting, Old Buckenham Airfield, Norfolk.

Now That Deserves A Donation...Doesn't It?

SkyDive Day Friday 7th August

2009-08-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

In Aid of
Hi Everyone,

Well, We Did It!!! :-) Take a look below to find out how the day went and what it feels like to Jump out of a plane!

Photo by Mark Wells of Logic Video

On Friday 7th August, 16 anxious looking, first-time skydivers arrived at Old Buckenham Airfield near Attleborough in Norfolk. The Briefing was scheduled for 9am and with the sky very overcast, there were rumours that the dive may not go ahead. This brought a short lived look of relief to some of the faces. Following the brief, we were then told to be back at the 'take off' point in an hour. This gave us chance to descend on the cafeteria for a calming cup of tea. At 10.30am and with the sky clearing, we were divided into 4 loads. The loads consisted of the divers, their instructors and the cameramen. The first load boarded the aircraft and as the rest of us looked on in anticipation, it took off up into the sky. The climb to 10000ft takes approximately 20 minutes, at which point we heard the first parachutes opening above the clouds. There was a cheer and some light release of anxiousness, as the first divers came gliding through the blanket of cloud, landing safely back on the ground. As they walked from the 'drop zone' towards their family and friends , the smile on their faces said it all. There were words like 'amazing', 'woohoo', and 'I want to do it again'. This certainly eased the nerves of those still waiting to jump.

Then I heard my name called. I got myself into a jump suit and was then strapped very tightly into a harness. 14 people then squeezed themselves into the light aircraft ready for the ascent. My instructor gave me another briefing on the way up and I could now feel my heart pumping. The view between the clearing white clouds over the Norfolk countryside was fantastic and helped take my mind off the inevitable for a short while. The door of the plane was opened and my camerman was now hanging out of it ready to film. My instructor and I now moved toward the door. Oh no, this was it, I was about to jump out of a perfectly working aeroplane. 1 2 3 GO.... 'Waahoo', I had now left a perfectly working plane and was falling though the sky at around 140mph. The sound and the feeling of the wind rushing past was phenomenal. The cameraman was in front of me , so I gave him the thumbs up and a wave. And then, wooosh, he disappeared beneath us and all went still and silent, as the parachute opened above us. It was at this point I remembered I was frightened of heights and there I was hanging around at 5000ft, with everything below looking so small and insignificant. It was so peaceful and calm gliding back towards earth. As we got closer I waved to my family who looked ecstatic to see me land safely in the drop zone, just as I was. Skydiving is the most craziest, extreme experience ever, going from the noise and rush of falling at such speed to the calmness and serenity of floating along with the clouds.

The staff, instructors and cameramen at UK Parachuting were very friendly and helpful, although slightly mad. I suppose in this sport that helps. The whole day was a huge success with photos being regularly broadcast on twitter. Everyone enjoyed it and not forgetting it was all for 4 great causes. I would like to give a massive thank you to all the skydivers -

Jas Sandhu, Jon Wells, Daz Shaw, Ricky Aspinal, Rob Daubney, Annie Gates, Dave Orrey, Jordan Kingsley, Bob Robinson, Rebecca Robertson, Howard Edwards, Maggie MacDonald, Prash Patel, Andy Kitching and Paul Garrigan.

as without them we wouldn't have raised over £3500 for the charities. Also a big thank you to all those that sponsored them and everyone else that has donated so far.

THANK YOU

This was the first of the 3 dangerous events I am attempting to pull off, to raise a total of £10,000. 1 down 2 to go and over a 3rd of the way there to raising the the full amount.

You can make a donation Right Now by clicking on the button below

There was one slight hitch on the day and that was the twitter updates. For some reason the pictures were broadcast but the twitter comments were not. This was a shame as those following on twitter would have had more information as to what was happening had these gone live as well.

There will be a video of the day available to watch later in the week, as long as the editing goes to plan. I would like to also thank Mark Wells of Logic Video for filming the happenings on the ground.

So that's that out the way, Phew! Check back at the end of the week and the video should be live.

All the best,

Rich

JUMP Day Broadcasting on Twitter!

2009-08-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

We Will Be Broadcasting The JUMP Day On Twitter

We'll have pictures and comment updates throughout the day.
See the skydivers as they land back on earth and find out how they're feeling!
Are their heads still in the clouds?

Click Here To Check In With What's Happening...

Rich

The FINAL Video Before We JUMP!

2009-08-05T12:55:00.001-07:00

In Aid of
Hi Again,

Here is the FINAL video before we all take the leap into the unknown on Friday!! Excited - Yes, Scared - Yes, Clean Underpants - so far, Yes!
Find out more about the 4th Charity the WCS and get to know who the final team of skydivers are...

Please tune in again soon as I will be posting the video of the Skydive and you'll see the reactions of the skydivers as they land back on earth.

Warm Regards,

Rich

The Charities - part 3

2009-07-30T01:53:00.000-07:00

In Aid of

Hi Folks,

Heres another video blog for you and Jamie has joined me again :-)

Please Make Your Donation Below

Thank You and all the best,

Rich

The Charities - part 2

2009-07-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

in Aid of
Hi Folks,

Here is Jamie and I telling you about The Downs Syndrome Association. Check it out, Jamie is a natural STAR! :-)

In the next update, I'll be telling you all about my first days training for the Wheelie attempt!

All the best,

Rich

The Charities - part 1

2009-06-16T06:38:00.000-07:00

In Aid of

Hi all,

Please check out the vid below. Thanks

You can Donate by clicking the button below

All the best,

Rich

Just Over 2 Months Until We Jump.................Aahhh

2009-06-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

In Aid of

Hi Folks,

Just a quick update this time, with a video update to follow in about a weeks time. First off, I just want to apologise again for the poor sound quality on the videos. No it's not your computer (phew I hear you say) it's the video recorder that I've used. The next video I shall be filming will be from a different camcorder and 'touch wood' the sound will be audiable.

So because of this problem, I would just like to go over what the last video was about.

Firstly, I will be offering a small prize to the fundraiser that raises the most money for these events. The prize being a book which I have read and has inspired me and given me the tools and techniques to move my life forward in a direction that only a couple of years ago, I only dreamed about. If it wasn't for that book and a couple of others like it then I wouldn't be typing this right now! or even doing any of this. It would still be just a thought in my head. So although it appears a small prize it has the potential to create great outcomes for the reader. That should be incentive enough to get the fundraisers uping the tempo!! ;-)

Secondly, as you will see in the video I have a Harley Davidson Fatboy motorcycle and what I am offering, is the chance for anyone to have a pillion ride on my Harley. For a small cost of £30 (you can give more if you want) I will happily take you out for you to experience the thrill of riding on a motorcycle and not just any motorcycle but a Harley Davidson at that! Probably the most famous motorcycle in the world with the looks, feeling and sounds that you will only experience on this iconic motorcycle.

So, if you would like a thrilling motorcycle experience then please contact me and tick off another of those things on your 'To do before I'm too old' list :-)

And not that I need to remind you but all money raised will be going to the great charities shown above.

You can of course donate at any time by clicking on any of the donate buttons throughout this blog. So please give as much as you can, every little counts.

Thank You.

All the best for now and I will be updating again in a week.

Rich

Fancy A Ride On A Harley Davidson?

2009-05-13T04:40:00.000-07:00

In Aid of

Hi Folks,

I hope everyone is well and thank you for taking a look at my blog. Please check out the short video as there is some exciting ideas that some of you may want to take me up on!!

Click Here to contact me. We can then arrange for you to experience the ride of your life! (watch the vid then you'll know what I'm talking about). :-)

For my Charity Ebay Auction and to get hold of the life changing book and tickets shown in the video, click here. The tickets alone have a printed price of £895 each!!

I would also just like to take this opportunity to thank all those that have donated on-line so far. I have had donations from as much as £10 to over £100 and I have been amazed by the generosity. So once again, Thank You. :-)

...and before you go, make yourself feel good today and donate as much as you can. Thank You.

£412 Raised By Just 1 Of The Skydivers...In Less Than A Month !!

2009-04-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

In Aid Of

Hi Folks,

Check out this weeks video for the latest on my fundraising. Please excuse the 'bed-head' hair style that seems to be going on! :-) It looks like I've just landed from a skydive.
In the next post I will be revealing the total amount raised so far, so please keep checking this blog regularly.

That's it for this week but as usual, please don't forget....

Donate as much as You can, Thank You. :-)

All the best,

Rich

Video Of The Events Is Now Organised

2009-04-06T03:40:00.000-07:00

In Aid of

Hi Folks,

Ok, there's no video from me this week but I can tell you that I have organised the filming of the events. Mark Wells of Logic Video http://www.logic-video.co.uk/ who happens to be my Uncle, has very kindly offered his professional services for the fundraising events. This means that we can produce a quality video that we will then be able to upload for you all to see. The reason that I wanted to do this was because I know some of you are happy to donate but would like to see the Skydive and the Wheelie attempt carried out first. You can of course donate at anytime, so please donate now if you wish - click below...

I'm sure there is going to be some great footage which will be exciting, entertaining and humorous. So, just to run over the events and dates here they are -

Friday 7th August 2009 - Skydive from 13,000ft

Monday 7th September 2009 - Wheelie attempt

We will plan to have the videos available for you to watch within a week of these dates.

On to a couple of other things that have been going on since my last update. We now have another mad soul that wants to join us with the Skydive -

Jas Sandhu

so a big thank you to him for getting involved and raising even more money! Some of the fundraisers are telling me that they have already raised £300 + of the minimum £450 needed per person for these events, this is fantastic considering they have only had their sponsor forms for a couple of weeks. At this rate, with the people involved, I'm becoming more confident that we can raise the target of £10k that I set myself in the beginning.

Corporate Sponsors

I am still in need of business owners that would like to sponsor our efforts in return for their business getting coverage in the papers and in all online promoting we do. Please contact me if you would like to get involved and have your business help a few good causes.

Well that's it for this update but as usual, don't forget to.....

Donate as much as You can, Thank You. :-)

The Skydive is Officially Booked...Ahhhhh !!!

2009-03-24T06:04:00.000-07:00

In Aid of

AAAAHHHHHHH !!!

The date is now set....

Friday August 7th 2009

JUMP DAY

Latest News Update

Just to let you know that we now have a confirmed date for the Skydive. 'Jump Day' will be on the 7th August 2009 and there are at present 12 of us jumping. Here is the list of the divers and if you know any of them please don't talk them out of it..... instead, Sponsor them. :-)

Darren Shaw

Dave Orrey

Annie Gates

Rebecca Robertson

Jon Wells

Maggie MacDonald

Howard Edwards

Rob Daubney

Ricky Aspin

Bob Robinson

Jordan Kingsley

Please give a thunderous round of applause to these fine, brave men and women who will be jumping into the unknown on what can only be describe as 'Mad Friday'! If you don't know any of them but would still like to donate, please click on the 'Donate' button below, thank you.

I've Got The Full Team Of Skydivers & Wheelie Bandits !!

2009-03-23T04:10:00.000-07:00

in aid of

Hi Folks,

Another great week for me and things are really beginning to snowball. Please take a look at the short video for this weeks update.

I just wanted to mention that I have been asked about 'Gift Aid' which is where the government will give a percentage to the charity on top of a donation made by UK taxpayer. Unfortunately as I am raising for more than one charity and I am not a registered charity myself, I can't claim Gift Aid on any donations. Of course, what you donate will still go to the charities but the government are unable to put in their percentage.

I'll keep you updated at some point this week as to the date of the skydive, once it has been booked and if there is anyone that is taking a look at this blog for the first time, please click on 'So What's A Tri-Dangerthon', on the top right of this page to see my first blog which will reveal all.

For those of you that really don't want to watch my first video and count all the 'erms' that I said, I manged to count 52 'erms' but there could be more. So, if you would like to donate 50p or even a POUND per 'erm' to the charities, then click on the donate button and times the money you are donating by 52. I shall try my best in future videos NOT to 'erm' but theres no guarantees. :-)

Thanks again for checking in on how things are going, as always your comments are much appreciated and don't forget....

Donate as much as you can, Thank You :-)

All the best,

Rich

My First Week of Fundraising...

2009-03-17T05:05:00.000-07:00

in aid of

Hi,

Well it's now been a week since I started this blog and my fund raising efforts, and what a week!
Below I have filmed my very first online video, so please take a look at this short video where I will be telling you all about this weeks events.

Tuesday 30th June 2009 - first day training / Monday 24th August 2009 - 2nd training day

The Final day and the day of the attempted distance wheelie will be Monday 7th September.

All 3 events will be filmed so you will be able to see the improvement as I go through my training (hopefully :-) )

Corporate Sponsorship... if you own a business and would like to sponsor me, please contact me. To raise even more cash and to achieve the £10,000 target I have set, I will need a number of corporate sponsors to donate. In return we will ensure that your company gets maximum coverage at all the events and in any marketing that we carry out.

That's it for this time, your comments as always are appreciated and....

Don't forget...

'DONATE' as much as you can, Thank You. :-)

All the best,

Rich Vincent

So What's A Tri-Dangerthon ? ....

2009-03-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

in aid of

Hi and welcome to my mad world !

If it's Ok with you, I'll start from the beginning and then you'll get the whole picture of where I'm coming from and going to.

Back in 2003 I was reading through the MCN newspaper (Motorcycle News) and came across an article about a 2000km trip across India on a Royal Enfield Bullet motorbike, all in aid of charity. This being their very first trip which was organised by a chap called Simon Smith and his company Enduro India. Since that very first adventure, the company have organised one every year and here is what Simon has to say -

"The last six Enduro India events were simply awesome, so many amazing people took part and the route was staggering in it's beauty. Being able to have such a special personal experience whilst making a real difference to others less fortunate is extremely satisfying for myself, the team and all who take part.India is in my blood and it's the perfect place to ride a motorcycle. The terrain is always changing and you simply never know what magic each new day will bring. The experiences are in stark contrast to each other, ranging from dense wildlife reserves to high mountains, from hot arid desert plains to chaotic cities, that's what's so refreshing about riding in India. You never settle into a boring routine and it opens you up to new experiences.The trips we've organised across Southern India over the last five years were enormous successes. The events involved over 800 people travelling 2,000 kilometres 'dawn 'til dusk' riding in 10 days. Since 2003 we have raised nearly £1,000,000 including the motorcycle donations and this has made us want to continue building on what is already well known as the 'must have' tour across the sub-continent. Riding en masse across this type of terrain with 100 like minded people is a very special feeling. I also realise that an extremely positive change comes over people returning from India. People have re-evaluated what they feel is important to them. I like that. This year will see the Enduro India team taking on new areas, creating new mind blowing routes catering for a wide range of abilities. Travelling in India also helps me to put life in perspective, so the more I go there the clearer it all becomes!"
Simon Smith, Enduro India

So, with this in mind, let's fast forward to 2006. This was the year for the very first time, I had written down some very clear, concise and definite goals that I wanted to achieve and you've guessed it, taking part in Enduro India was on that list of goals! I set it out that I would take part in the year of my 40th birthday, 2010. That was over 3 years ago and last week I sent a deposit to Enduro India for £500. My dream has now begun.

The Enduro India event has now been extended to 14 days and 2500km, making it even greater but at the same time more gruelling than before. This isn't just a tootle around a few back roads on a Sunday afternoon, no siree, this is 12 to 14 hours a day in the saddle on a vintage design motorcycle in extreme heat on extreme surfaces! It's going to be tough but I'm doing it for 2 BIG reasons - 1. I know I will take so much from doing this and 2. I will be giving so much by doing it. This is where you come in, I need to raise at least £5000 to take part in this event, I would like to raise £10,000 + . So let me introduce you to the charities that will benefit from this (click below to learn more about these charities) -

So what's a Tri-Dangerthon? I here you say. Well, it's a word I made up to describe what it is I shall be doing, to raise money for the proposed charities. I decided that I should put myself and my nerves to the test and came up with the idea of carrying out, not just one mad, crazy, dangerous feat but 3! Over the next few months I will -

1. Jump from an areoplane at 13000ft

2. Learn to wheelie a motorcycle and then perform the stunt over a pre-determined distance

3. The Finale - ride 2500km across India on a classic motorcycle

...and so there we have what I call a Tri-Dangerthon!

I also want to introduce you to one other charity that is very close to my heart -

and this charity will also benefit from your kind sponsorship of my Tri-Dangerthon.

The reason I have chosen this charity is that our 7 (nearly 8) year old son, Jamie, is Down's Syndrome. He is a wonderful little boy and I wouldn't change him for the world and we find it amazing that we have learnt as much from him as he has from us.

Jamie attends a mainstream junior school and is a very popular lad. At the moment he is learning to swim and in the summer we can't get him off his trampoline! He loves being around his older sister and brother, Jade and Matt and gets up to all sorts of mischief with his younger cousins, Tilly and Jack. We class ourselves as very fortunate that Jamie is fit and healthy but that is not always the case with Down's Syndrome children. Therefore the Down's Syndrome Association need all the help they can get to help others that need a lot more care and attention. As for Jamie, well, there's not much chance of him missing out on any attention....we certainly know he's around!! :-)

So, I'm attempting 3 mad, bad and dangerous events, in aid of 4 charities and You Can Help me, please, by donating as much as you can by clicking on any of the donate buttons on this blog. I will be updating this blog on a regular basis so please follow me to keep on track with how things are going. I will upload pictures and even video of the events as and when they happen, so you can have great pleasure in seeing me and some of my friends, what we would call, 'brickin' it'!

More Than Just Donations....Volunteers Required.

Right now, I am looking for volunteers to come with me on the Skydive, this isn't because I daren't do it on my own (well maybe :-) ) but because I figured the more there were the more money could be raised. So if you would like to Skydive for charity, please contact me.

Or Would You Like To Be A Corporate Sponsor ?

To raise even more cash and to achieve the £10,000 target I have set, I will need a number of corporate sponsors to donate. In return we will ensure that your company gets maximum coverage at all the events and in any marketing that we carry out. If you would be interested in being one of our corporate sponsors, please contact me.

That's it for my first blog, please leave any comments you may have and don't forget to..........

'DONATE' as much as you can, Thank You. :-)