Cycling the Atlantic to the Black Sea for Maya Universe Academy.

During a recent expedition to the Himalayas, where I summited two 6,100 meter high peaks as well as Everest Base Camp, I spent some time volunteering at a Nepalese school forming part of a grassroot project, which is based on the idea that rather than charging tuition fees parents are instead requested to donate their time to the school. More information about the school can be found on their website (mayauniverseacademy.org). They are currently trying to raise USD3,000 to refurbish the classrooms and install a rain water harvesting system securing drinking water for their students. Furthermore, being located very rurally in the mountainous parts of Nepal, one of the major barriers faced by the families to allow their children to get an education is the simple practicalities of finding safe transport to and from the school. To overcome this they are hoping to fund a school bus, which costs USD 10,000. This project greatly appealed to me and I truly believe in the values it stands for, which is why I have decided to undertake a cycling tour across Europe to help fundraise towards this.

My plan is to depart from Nantes in France in August, and cycle eastward crossing the European continent finishing in Constanta in Bulgaria. The tour follows the famous EuroVelo 6 route, which is approximately 3,650km long and will take me along six rivers, across ten countries, past four UNESCO world heritage sites crossing a diverse range of landscapes and encountering a multitude of different cultures in the process. Having only one month to complete this tour I will need to average approximately 130km a day. Additionally, it will all be done on a fully loaded bike; to maximise the fundraising I intend to be fully independent travelling with a full set of camping gear and the necessary equipment to broadcast my position and blog live about my journey.

Any help you may be able to offer in aiding me to complete this challenge would be immensely valuable! In return I would be more than happy to do whatever I can to aid your project.