International day of disability – Puerto Madryn - Argentina. Introduction by Magdalena

The following short Film shows my aunt, Cristina Camarasa speaking about an exhibition set for the International Day of Disability in Puerto Madryn. The exhibition was set up to show a group of young disabled adults and the work they do, outside the institutions set up to help disabled people. For example there is artwork produced by disabled people as well as a photography exhibition showing pictures of others playing sports. The intention of the exhibition is to inform society that young disabled people are also capable of doing everyday things and that friends, family and society need to support, encourage and give them the freedom they need to achieve their goals.
Hace click en el siguiente enlace para ver a mi tía hablar sobre una exposición de fotografía en Puerto Madryn para el día internacional de la discapacidad, mostrando las cosas que hace la gente con discapacidad como ser deportes y arte.

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Magdalena - Historia

My story/ Mi Historia

Me entere del viaje de Simon mientras visitaba a mis primos en Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Yo vivo y trabajo en Londres hace 17 años y visito Argentina cuando es posible a visitar a mi familia. Mi tía me contó que un chico ingles planeaba un viaje por América para recaudar fondos para la sociedad X frágil de Inglaterra y buscaba contactos en América Latina. Inmediatamente me intereso el proyecto porque yo tengo dos primos que son X frágil y conozco como afecta este síndrome a la familia y la poca ayuda y conocimiento que hay sobre esta discapacidad. Así fue como me decidí a encontrarme con Simon en mi regreso a Londres para ofrecerle mi ayuda en lo que fuera necesario.
Como tengo un poco de conocimiento sobre los medios de publicidad le sugerí a Simon que esto debería ser su prioridad para que el viaje sea un éxito. Simon esta recaudando fondos para la sociedad X frágil de Inglaterra pero hemos decidido que durante su viaje lo más importante es concientisar a la mayor cantidad de gente posible sobre lo que es el síndrome X. El Síndrome X Frágil es la causa genética más común de deterioro mental, pero a pesar que ha sido identificado en todo el mundo, se estima que el 90% de los individuos que lo padece aun no ha sido diagnosticado. Por esta razón Simon se concentrara en difundir información sobre el síndrome y las sociedades y organizaciones donde personas afectadas pueden buscar apoyo. No existen organizaciones o sociedades en todos los países de América pero esperamos poder poner personas en contacto con si mismas para apoyarse y en los casos que se pueda, crear organizaciones de apoyo e información. Por esta razón si usted conoce de personas u organizaciones que quisieran cooperar con el proyecto, de difundir información y crear publicidad durante el viaje de Simon por favor contáctese con nosotros. Todavía estamos buscando contactos en México, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá, Colombia, Ecuador y Bolivia. Realmente deseo que todos podamos hacer nuestro pedacito para poder apoyar, ayudar, informar y concienciar a la mayor cantidad de personas posibles y crear un movimiento positivo global.

Magdalena Mayo
Maggie_mayo@hotmail.com

I found out about Simon’s xpedition while I was visiting my cousins in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. I have lived and worked in London for the last 17 years but I try to go back to Argentina as much as possible to visit my family. I was immediately drawn to Simon’s project because both my cousins suffer from Fragile X and I know first hand how this disability affect my family as well as the lack of support groups and information there is about this disability. This is how on my return to London I got in touch with Simon and offered him my help. We got together and I shared our experiences of the disability and talked about how best to take his idea forward. We agreed that publicity is the most important thing to achieve, not just for the xpedition but also to spread as much information as possible about the fragile X syndrome. Few people know that Fragile X Syndrome is the most common inherited cause of mental disability and it is often wrongly diagnosed as autism. Despite this there are very few organisations or societies offering support to families affected by fragile X, particularly in Latin America. We hope that Simon’s xpedition brings people affected by fragile X together and that it creates enough publicity to spread the word about what this disability is about and how it affects people. We are still looking for contacts in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia who Simon is able to visit. If you are interested in this project or know someone affected by Fragile X, please send us an email or donate using the link on the right.

Intermidiate ramblings

Most people have in their memories, images of Shackleton`s ship The Endurance, wedged in the jaws of Antarctic ice or Hilary and Tensin`s grinning, burnt complexions descending in triumph, but what about names like Carl Stevens Clancy, stanley Glanfield, Avis & Effie Hotchkiss, or Ted Simon, Dan Walsh. These names, with images of bent handlebars buried in deserts, rusty paint cracked panniers smothering machines and ancient brown bomber jackets are only wedged in the memories and research of motorcycle obsessed minorities. They deserve their names & stories stuck in the vaults of hero`s. Forerunners in the world of " Adventure Motorcycling" without whom i doubt i personally would`ve had the belly to do this FXPedition. It looks like the first round the world by motorcycle was in 1913. Carl Stevens Clancy, an American, rode his Henderson motorcycle 19,000 miles though Europe, North Africa, Asia, Japan, west coast States onto East coast States. (a similar henderson in the photo)



This must have been pure endurance and a great advertisment for the Henderson company, proving the machines ruggedness and reliability. Imagine it though, feeling every internal organ shaking pot hole, on terribly maintained roads (if there was any maintenance), no machanics in every town, hardly any fuel stops and basic clothing unsuited for the ever changing climate. These Bikes were not fast either, you couldn`t just blast out parts of the route at an average 80mph. There is some history of a mother and daughter team, Avis and Effie Hotchkiss riding their sidecar outfit the whole length of the States, undirectly covering 5000miles, in 1915, how they must have been looked at with judgmental eyes. We jump to 1928 now. Stanley Glanfield devoured 18,000 miles and 4 continents in just 8 months. He was riding a Rudge Whitworth combination, with a "wapping great" 3.5 horse powered single cylinder motor. How did the locals in the far Mesopotamian mountains see and behold a grumbling, rumbling sidecar outfit with a wide eyed lonely Englishman, "what - oh"-ing it up & grinning at them ??. Not long after this Mad Dogman, along rode Another Young North American. Robert Edison Fulton Jr. 1932 to be exact. He rode a huge 40,000 miles in 18 months on a Douglas T6 twin, which going by a rare photograph ( i can`t show) started to actually take the appearance of a modern bike and not look like a victorian Hobby horse. By this time it looks like they had started to get to grips with the bike travel stuff, because the bike was modified with a larger fuel tank, room for his luggage, including a movie camera and 14,000 feet of film, also enough space for clothing and a sneaky place for his gun (wonder if he used it ?). In later years the bike travel bug spread, bikes became more accesible to the average person, like everything else and the stories were spreading, which inspired people to bite the bullet and get out there. Elspeth Beard, a fearless young English woman of 24 years went out to eat up 48,000 miles on a BMW. Then of course you have Ted Simon, who in the early seventies took his triumph out there for 4 years, subsequently writing the book Jupiters Travels, an honest, exciting, insighful coverage of his adventures. A book loved by all , including anti- motorcycling, couch lords. Then theres Dan Walsh. A riding writer, lost in the wilds, that appears in the UK`s BIKE magazine, from time to time. A definate inspiration, finding comical, sometimes dark and insightful situations. I think most of us search Bike mag every month hoping that Dan has managed to fill some pages with that colourful, rich & dangerous prose of his. Unlike a lot of adventurers these handful of characters went in search of stuff other than glory, that i am sure of, which makes my hat go out further to them. My hat comes off again to go out to all the invisble ones who over the years and now, also ride across, war torn lands, beauracratic walls, dangerous jungles, over populated unknown cities and general life threaten situations everyday in search of something other than the usual mundane nothingness. What is it about motorcycling that gets in the blood forever ?

There is definatly a strong bond amongst motorcyclist, no matter what kind of riding they are involved in, whether its blasting around as fast as possible, lording it up outside the local cafe or riding as far as possible chasing something inside, we all make time for each other and instantly become more than aquaintances, listening easily to each of our stories. I learnt of this bond when i was 16, bone shaking around on a Yamaha FSIE 50cc rascal, which had a habit of falling apart each time i parked up somewhere. On a winters night my little FSIE decided to fall apart once more, which left me with my head in my hands screaming obsenities at a broken gear lever, when a loud bass rumbling machine came up the street (a washed out kawasaki Z1000, carrying two oil faced, older than me urchins, with tattoed cobwebs on their necks. I thought this was my time to die, until these gentlemen spent half an hour out of their precious terrorising to help me out & fix the bike until i could ride off once more. Some say its the freedom a bike brings, some say it clears a cluttered mind, some say its as close to being part of the earth around them, feeling the temperature drop in the woods, then feeling the sunshine the other side. A famous quote : "Driving a car is like watching a film, but riding a bike is like being in a film". I do know that during a long ride the mind goes to other places, sometimes shockingly profound places that gets forgotten that night around the dinner table. The risks are massive, and we all know this. Maybe thats where the bond is. Knowing the risks brings an acute sense and vision of things. Reading the road and expecting the worse. Knowing what that nut case in the rickerty truck, with the family of pigs on the roof is going to head straight for you expecting you to ride off the road out of HIS way. Everything and all of it is Fun, even when your buttocks are killing you and the Darker than usual storm is following you everywhere until you are soaked beyond the bone. On top of this i think that riding into everywhere on my trip will get me noticed more so than any other means of transport, which will get the message of Fragile X out there on a wider scope. Down sides to Motorcycle travel ? There isn`t any !


A date is settled. I leave the fluffy safety of England on 3rd August. (Lee, you know it makes sense !)

The necessary hero - The bike

There has never been any doubt in my mind as to which motorcycle would take me through this adventure, even when confidence and imagation took over and i dreamt of riding the route on something ridiculous like a pink 50cc monkey bike or C90 pizza step through. Or even doing a Nick Sanders and chase the horizon on an R1, But i`ll leave those fruit cake dreams to the really, really adventurous, for now anyway...The Kawasaki KLR650. A cult classic dual-sport machine. A bike the massive Japanese manufacturer hasn`t altered, as their rivals where altering their machines year after year. The Kwak has stayed the same, maybe a few stickers here and there, since the mid eighties upto last year. It seems like that wasnt a wrong move, as the KLR has been right up there in sales to the adventurous North American global munching motorcycle adventurers, commuters, local trail riders, beginners and general bike lovers, state side. But over here on our little Island the KLR has been sitting despondent in the shadows of all other species of bikes. I think we love our silly accleration and top end madness to much and without to much legal off road availability, the Kwak has no hope here. I have only seen one in the past year, parked up in the car park of the sinister white swan pub in Stepney (wonder what his story is ?). The bike is no high performance motocrosser, or quick off the lights fireblade humiliator, like some KTM`s have been known to be. Its built to eat miles on all sorts of terrain, even though its a mass produced machine, which the japanese are known to mass produce using cheaper materials. If the US marine corp use them, with only a few modifications (including a diesel conversion, done for logistical reasons) it must be a monster for high mileage and rough treatment. A heart beat 651cc, watercooled calmly vibing single cylinder, weighing in at around 155 kilos, humble horsepower, with a grunty low-mid range, fed by a 40mm carb, this bike is a basic as they come, which to me says : low running costs, enough grunt to get out of panic spots, accessible parts in obscure places and simple maintenance (mind you i could be very wrong as i am not mechanicaly minded, without lots of effort). The fuel tank holds around 6.1 US gallons, that i remember let me squeeze around 250-ish miles from. Its a tall bike, that i have to prepare myself for when mounting, instead of just jumping on, but once up there in the clouds feel absolutly at home on, it fits. On dirt i havent found the height a problem. I have used a lower BMW F650 also and didnt find my basic off road skills any different from that of riding the KLR..... There a few obvious other choices of adventure bikes out there, like the humungous Beamers and the gorgeous KTM adventure series, but these bikes cost an arm and a leg to initialy buy, so they are out of the question for me, let alone they are just to show offy and to much to handle on the dirt for myself. I owned a Yamaha XT660X supermoto last year and was very tempted to have a go on the americas with that, (haven`t heard of a supermoto doing the route) but after getting sensible again and seeing its such a cheaper option to buy the bike in the states than to ship my own, the XT was filed away in my mind, shame really coz that was a fun machine.Aprilia, suzuki and even MZ produce dual sports aswell, but after looking into and past experiences, the KLR just gives me no choice..... the wide handle bars give superb leverage when on dirt and on the tarmac, where Counter stearing into the twisties on the KLR is a right grin, even if not at missile speeds. After saying all this, i have to mention that i have never owned a KLR. I have only ridden approximatly 4000 miles around South Africa and Alaska on one, thats where i draw my judgement from. In those miles i have trouble finding any complaints, infact i have non !.... looks of a bike are irrelevant for a trip like this, apart from the fact that discretion is probably a large point, in not showing off on a shiny, brand new, custom sprayed "ive got money" machine ,in those wonderful less fortunate countries. Saying that though, i love the Mad Max, battlefield looks of the KLR, which definatly sits on the lower dirtier end of the Obvious "have money" stick.





The plan is to buy the KLR in Anchorage, Alaska with the help of a good friend, Phil Freeman, who runs the superb Alaska Rider Tours outfit up there. I have ridden with Phil on a number of occasions and completly trust his knowledge, experience and large adventuristc tendancies, which are infectious. He has a legion of bikes including some wise old KLR`s which one of, has my name and rear size written all over it. I cant wait to meet the machine that will take me out there !

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE ! NAVIDAD ALEGRE !

To all that are reading this and to all families affected by Fragile X. To all those wonderful people working within Fragile X organisations. To all those future friends, who i am going to meet on the road and to all those who have helped me out with the venture, i want to wish you HUGE HUGE heart felt wishes of Major merryness this christmas and i hope 2008 brings you delights unheard of !.... I am working all over the festive season, but will be smiling my head off, willing the new year in, warm with the thoughts of what 2008 will bring on the road from Alaska to Ushuaia..

De aqui en Londres. A todos en America Latina, mi le deseo un Navidad alegre y un prospero ano nuevo !excitado a reunion de usted por mi expedicion en 2008 !

New directions

My route is evolving all the time. As i have mentioned before i can only describe a rough plan, but with the contact i am gratefully recieving from the kind people involved with Fragile X in the Americas, i am starting to get a more focused route. Above is my new, at the moment route. A few deviations that i have described in my last post.

Rejection - Understanding - Solace - Excitement !

" This sponsorship malarkey , will be a doddle ! - companies and people will want to give, knowing their donation is going straight to a worthy cause and not funding some naive nut case who plans to ride a motorcycle up and over everywhere "

That was my first thought, as this idea of the FXpedition bombarded my brain, leaving not much room for any other thoughts, instincts, or even desires. I was a little off the mark. It has become the hardest challenge i have ever found my face facing. One that has had me waking up the wrong way round in bed, with the covers wrapped around my neck, on more than a few occasions. I wouldn`t change it for anything ! I have been sending emails and phoning all sorts of companies, from local hot dog sellers to huge global munching corporates. Some have said back to me " yes, we are interested, send us your plans" some have said "soooo, what publicity are you getting ? " but most say " NO ! . publicity, thats the Profound key. I need constant articles in all publications, reaching a wide base of readers. So far i have been lucky in finding the wonderful people from, bike animal, dirt bike rider mag and briefly MCN, who as i have mentioned in past posts have given me publicity, reaching the motorcycle audience here in the UK. I am no journo, with an agent so getting constant articles written in the larger publications is near on impossible, but i will keep trying to charm and convince the rascals to let me in ! then the larger would be donaters will raise more than one eyebrow. We have the big NEC bike show next week, so i am going to stick my face in every direction there. It will be a chance to meet all sorts of people involved in all aspects of biking. I have made hundreds of flyers (pic above) that have been scattered everywhere, in tea shops, bike shops, on top drink dispensers, in prams, in pockets, in windows and everywhere i see a gap. Thank you Andrew Morten, down there in KIWI heaven for spreading the word, and especially getting that radio mention in Auckland. Thanks to Nadine and the other Simon Siggs (top name !) down there in OZ for flying the flyers all over also !

I am chuffed to pieces and will be forever grateful to all the people who have individually donated so far. Every time i see another donation, my confidence blooms and i get hungrier to see this through. Your generosity is unsurpassed. I have to say AON, my primary sponsor have been amazing. They have backed me with no questions asked or no pressure of getting them publicity. Thank you AON.

My route South is evolving in exciting ways i wasn`t expecting. I have been getting some fantastic correspondence going with people from all over the Americas, involved with Fragile X Syndrome. I am now riding more easterly in Canada, moving off of the Rockies spine and heading for Saskatoon, where i hope to meet up with Jamie, an enthusiastic young lady, who has a nephew with Fragile X. Jamie is on her own mission for Fragile X, so i wish her all the best with that, knowing she, after only some small correspondence will take all challenges she faces, in her stride. Uruguay is calling also. Virginia , the secretary of the Uruguay Fragile X association, i have been corresponding with, so i am going to turn left out of Bolivia, riding across northern Argentina, with a small side trip ( a couple of 1000km) to find the Valle De La Luna (the valley of the moon, how can i resist ?!!), heading back to cross from Argentina into Uruguay at Frey bentos (ring any bells ??). Or if the present political grief hasn't subsided by then at that crossing, i will cross more northerly at Paysandu or Concordia, then head down into montevideo where i hope to meet Virginia, Daniela, who has a son affected with Fragile X, and all the others in their association. We will strive to get local publicity from their local media, which will spread some needed awareness. I am really excited about visiting Uruguay because i hadn`t planned on going there. Next, i am riding down into Patagonia to visit senor Flia Gracia Owen, who has brilliantly written to me also. Flia lives in Trelew, a gorgeous scenic part of Argentina, situated very close to Gaiman, which is an enigmatic welsh settlement town in windy beautiful Patagonia. The FXPedition is turning into something global, something i didnt even imagine it would be. I am happier than ever over what its becoming. Fingers crossed i will get more contact with people over there, to Zig Zag my route even more, taking me to new unthought of places on that magnificent, diverse, otherworldy landmass !

I want more stickers to saturate my bike with, so if you have a company large or small, sponsor this venture so i can stick your company stickers all over my panniers ! send me your t-shirts aswell, so i can wear them when getting media photos taken on this advertising opening of a trip ! If you are interested and have ideas of your own, i am all ears and up for more challenges on route !

Remember ALL DONATIONS DO NOT FUND ME IN ANYWAY. ALL DONATIONS GO STRAIGHT TO THE FRAGILE X SOCIETY.