Desert charity ride for Wallington bikers (From Surrey Comet)

Desert charity ride for Wallington bikers

8:39am Monday 13th February 2012 in Sutton

A biker seriously injured in an accident last year is about to set off on a 4,000 mile ride across the Sahara Desert - on a scooter.

Belle Sinclair and husband Gordon, experienced bikers from Wallington, will be part of a group of 12 leaving Portsmouth for the expedition on March 4.

The three-week ride on Honda C90s will take them through the Sahara, across the High Atlas Mountains, through a warzone and a minefield, and will include both tarmac and off-road terrain.

Once they arrive in Gambia, they will donate their bikes to Bansang Hospital, where they will be used by doctors and nurses to reach patients in outer villages and to transport medicines to remote communities with limited access to medical care.

Belle and Gordon will spend a week working in and around the hospital.

Photographer Belle, 42, said her accident - in which she was hit by a car when cycling - inspired her to do the expedition.

She said: "I was wallowing in what happened and just about getting around with a walking stick when the idea came up. The accident gave me a real incentive to do it. It completely threw my life into disarray and made me realise that anything can happen at any time.

"At least in the West we have access to medical care. We won the lottery the day we were born and it’s not right that others don’t have the same opportunities.

"If we can do something to help, we should."

Belle said she has always wanted to explore North Africa and ride across the Sahara, but never had an idea as to how to do it until now.

She added: "I’m feeling very excited and a bit apprehensive now it’s getting closer. I’m not worried about breaking down or falling off as that could happen anywhere and we all know a lot mechanically. But riding through Mauritania will be scary as it’s a bit of an unknown quantity, with all the unrest around that area.

"But if you didn’t ever test yourself a little bit, you would never even step out of your front door."

The team is still looking for donations, with all the money raised going to the Bansang Hospital’s fund.

Belle said: "We’ve paid for the trip, the bikes and riding kit ourselves and now we’re trying to buy two oxen, some seeds and farming equipment so the hospital can cultivate a nearby field and feed patients."

Donations can be made by visiting the website www.virginmoneygiving.com\scoots2012