WHITE NIGHTS RIDE ACROSS RUSSIA FOR CHARITY
03 November 2004 - BMW Motorrad GB

Have you ever looked out the window of a plane and thought what it would be like to travel overland instead of flying? After 20 years of winging over to Russia for work, Nicholas Fairfax had that exact thought.

Through his work in the shipping industry he had seen almost every port in Russia but had never travelled between them. Now it was his time for adventure.

Over a year ago, Nicholas started to contemplate the logistics of putting a rather ambitious idea into action – riding motorcycles from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg – and he began by visiting the International Motorcycle and Scooter Show at the NEC in Birmingham.

“I have been a keen biker for 30 years,” said the well-spoken businessman. “I went to the NEC, wandered around the adventure section and decided that I wanted to ride across Russia. I spoke to a couple of friends who also had an interest in Russia, and liked biking, and got them on board. We decided that we would join up with a charity and the whole project has just spiralled from there.”

Nicholas’ couple of friends turned into a substantial group of 11 (in total) and now there is even a waiting list in case anyone decides to withdraw. Nicholas who is a former member of the Parliamentary Motorcycle Group has been appointed as the team leader for the White Nights Ride.

The team will share the riding on the seven BMW R1150 GS Adventures on the White Nights Ride. Riders include (Prince) Nicholas von Preussen, great grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, who has been riding motorcycles for over 40 years; Rose Cecil, an artist, and the only female in the group; Neil Ashton, a media businessman and adventurer; Tim von Halle, friend and former investment banker; Ron Pape, risk manager for P&O Nedlloyd, with 70,000 biking miles under his belt in the past three years; 1964 Olympic Gold medal bobsleigh pilot Victor Emery; and new Russian friend Boris Zimin.

Past manager of the British Olympic sailing team Vernon Stratton has been appointed as the team’s official photographer and Rupert Murray is the filmmaker for the ride. Vernon and Rupert will be driving BMW X3s, which will act as support vehicles for the trip. Rupert will also ride when possible.

The group has called the trip the White Nights Ride because they plan to arrive in St Petersburg in June 2005 when there is a midnight sun – a time of year known locally as the ‘White Nights’.

The White Nights Ride team will depart from Vladivostok (on eastern Pacific coast of Russia) on BMW R1150 GS Adventures in early May of next year. They will ride due north to Khabarovsk and then across the top of China and Mongolia to Chita, Ulan Ude, Irkutsk, Angarsk, Sheliykov, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Nizhniy Novgorod, Vladimir, Moscow, Tver, Velikiy Novgorod then finally onto St. Petersburg. The journey will take approximately five-and-a-half weeks and involve over 6,500 miles of riding – including 1,500 miles off-road.

“The BMW R1150 GS Adventure was the most obvious choice of bike for the trip. It is a great bike and extremely reliable. We will be riding to desolate areas like the Zilowsky Gap, which is known as one of the worst areas for bikers,” Nicholas explained. “It is a lot better there now than it has been in the past because there is actually a road. We will be riding through this area right at the end of winter when the snow and ice should have melted, so we will probably be riding in mud and clay. Timing is difficult because you are battling between trying to miss the end of winter, or being eaten alive by mosquitoes if you leave later.”

BMW’s R1150 GS Adventure is the choice of motorcycle for many long distance travellers. Kevin and Julia Sanders broke a Guinness World Record in 2003, riding almost 17,000 miles two-up from north to South America in just 35 days. Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman also rode Adventures on the Long Way Round expedition – riding from London to New York earlier this year.

Apart from the wonderful adventure that the White Nights Ride team are about to embark on, the group is focussed on raising money for two charities – Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Russia, which dispenses funds to local charitable projects throughout Russia, and The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign in the UK.

“CAF Russia is the largest British charity working in Russia,” explained Nicholas. “The charity distributes money to smaller charities within the country. We have already raised $300,000 (US), which includes a donation from the Zimin family foundation Dynastia and Kingfisher plc. We are hoping to raise at least $1million (US).”

During the trip the team will visit local charity projects as well as its sponsors. In preparation, the team has completed the BMW Off-Road Skills course and are madly organising paperwork to get the project off the ground.

“I have been travelling to Russia for 20 years and this is the perfect opportunity for me to give something back to the country. Through CAF Russia we can help benefit over 200 local charities throughout Russia.”

The R1150 GS Adventures that the White Nights Ride team will ride, and the two 4x4s – BMW X3 2.0 litre diesel cars – used as support vehicles, will be shipped to Russia in February in readiness for the start of the long (and exciting) journey. Keep up to date with their progress by visiting www.worldofbmw.com or www.whitenightsride.org.uk

www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk

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