Weston man rides to Delhi

24 July 2009

A BIKER from Weston will be riding to Delhi in memory of his former PA.

Richard Evans, an independent financial advisor at RTM Financial Planning Ltd, will hop on his vintage Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle and ride about 8,000 miles.

Money raised will go towards Weston Hospicecare and Asha, a charity based in Delhi, dedicated to improving the lives of people in poverty.

The 54-year-old said: "I am doing this in memory of Margaret Copp who was much more than a secretary and a personal assistant, she became a friend.

"She was the voice on the telephone that many clients sadly never met, but always felt they knew."

The father of two from Worlebury worked with Margaret who sadly died in January 2008 after a battle with cancer.

When he was younger, Richard motorcycled around Europe, and more recently in India riding from Goa to Chennai, and through Ladakh on the highest motorable road in the world.

Richard anticipates this trip could take about ten weeks to complete.

The plan is to camp along the way to keep costs as low as possible.

The avid motorcycle fan will be accompanied by his friend Simon Chegwyn from Chilcompton on the journey which will begin on September 9.

They will travel through Europe to Turkey and then on to Iran.

After two weeks crossing Iran they will then head through Pakistan and on to India.

Simon's girlfriend, Alex Arnold, who works for Asha, will keep their blog updated as regularly as possible.

The pair will fund their own expenses for the trip so every pound donated will go directly to charities.

To follow the blog visit www.delhibikechallenge2009.com

To sponsor the duo visit www.justgiving.com/delhibikechallenge2009 to donate to Asha or www.justgiving.com/delhibikechallenge2 to donate to Weston Hospicecare.