Thank you to everyone who supported my Epic Nordic Adventure, more challenges to come….
Clearly 2021 didn’t go as anyone expected, and that included those planning fundraising challenges.
Changing international restrictions and ultimately becoming critically ill, then hospitalised with covid forced an abrupt end to my 2021 fundraising ambitions.
It was a year of challenges, just not the kind I expected, and to be fair I’d prefer not to repeat!
However, that was 2021, and we’re now in 2022, with a new year of possibilities ahead. I have unfinished business in the Arctic and am ready to hit the open road, heading off on a journey with real purpose!
One guy on a motorbike. Travelling around 6,000 miles through the Scandinavian Arctic into the land of the midnight sun!
My travels will begin in late June, when parts of the route open after winter closures.
What could go wrong? What will go right? Either way, I want you to see this journey through my eyes. But you don’t need to worry about the dangerous parts. Or the challenging weather extremes.
You don’t need to worry about all the threatening forms of wildlife, either. Or the mind-blowing logistics.
You don’t even have to mess about trying to find lost passports. And there’s no need to take a motorbike test.
Simply log on and enjoy the sights, challenges, and adventure as it unfolds before you. Oh, and laugh at the sight of me trying to put up my tent in the pouring rain.
In fact, you can join the adventure from wherever you have a connection to the internet. Because the power of digital technology means you’ll be able to follow me as I ride over every mile.
So, that’s over all the major platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Get ready to sign in, follow, subscribe and if you can please donate to my fundraising page!
Here’s to the journey ahead!
My reason why is two-foldI’m doing this to both challenge myself. And to help a charity called Alex’s Wish. They’ve lost vital backing and support because lockdown has stopped them fundraising in the usual way.
Named after the founders’ son, Alex, it’s a charity dedicated to finding a cure for a rare type of muscular dystrophy. Known as Duchenne, it’s a life-limiting muscle wasting condition that mainly affects boys. And it reduces their life expectancy down to their mid-twenties at best. Currently, there’s no cure.
But scientists believe they are close to finding one. So close, in fact, that they believe this current generation could be the first to survive. Or the last to die.
Which is why further research into Duchenne is so vital.
Alex’s Wish aims to fund the cost of some of this global research. To ensure boys like Alex all over the world live a life with no limits.
At The Inspired Rider, it’s my hope that together we can raise over £10,000 to help put the research back on track.
And well, if I can inspire you to do something similar yourselves, that would be amazing. Part of the reason I’m documenting the journey on social media isn’t just to entertain you. OK, well yes, doubtless my amateur attempts at adventure will make you smile.
Ultimately, I want to inspire you to think of a challenge to do yourself. Then follow in my footsteps and make it happen. After all, if I can do it, anyone can.
Maybe there’s an adventure you’ve been putting off? If so, I’d love to hear about it. Or I can give you some ideas about how to raise the money. Plus, share some of the knowledge I’ve picked up along the way.
Let’s face it, over the past couple of years, we’ve mostly been stuck indoors. So much has been lost. Money, loved ones, time…and a total loss of freedom.
Some of these we can’t get back and, well, it’s taken its toll. Especially charities and worthy causes. Many of whom haven’t been able to rely on their usual means of fund-raising.
I want to try and help them. And provide a little adventure. With life feeling so restricted, it’s time to put a spring back in everyone’s step. More than that, it’s time to break out and do something fun and positive!
I’m just an ordinary guy with a family. But I’ll be riding my motorbike on an incredible journey into the Arctic and the land of the midnight sun.
Through spectacular fjords and hidden forests. Past trolls, reindeer, and the world of Santa Claus. From Leicester to Nordkapp, then on through the Scandinavian wilderness.
So, what are you waiting for? Explore this website and get involved.
I look forward to you riding along with me as a virtual passenger!
Apart from bikes and his family, Stan’s real passion is helping people achieve their dreams. A devotee in the importance of personal development, he strongly believes that ‘the secret to living is giving’. Which is the ethos that’s driven this and many other projects. Inspiration for The Nordic Adventure came in many forms, but ultimately, it’s his love of helping and having fun that has transformed Stan into ‘The Inspired Rider’.
When Stan Hulme, one half of the Epic Nordic Adventure team who are undertaking a 6,000 mile trip on their bikes – a BMW R 1200 GS and a Triumph Tiger 800 XCA – to the North Cape in Europe for local charity Alex’s Wish, received an email informing him he’d won a Drybag350 he was delighted!
Back Street Heroes covers all styles of custom bikes; choppers, bobbers, streetfighters, trikes cafe racers, street scramblers, flat trackers, brats and rats… to name just a few.
We had a fantastic day a the beginning of March being interviewed Live on BBC Radio Leicester. Together with Emma Hallam, founder of Alex’s Wish, we discussed our epic Nordic Adventure.
Replay available now! Just hit the button below (Skip ahead to 12:35).
Most 14-year-old boys are still at the very beginning of their lives, but Alex Hallam is now considered middle-aged.
Alex, of Queniborough, has a rare form of muscular dystrophy called Duchenne, which is a genetic degenerative disease in boys that tragically cuts their expected life span to an average of 26.
But Alex knows he is lucky, still being able to walk when the average boy loses that ability at around 12.
Bikers heading north for an epic adventure to help Alex’s charity.
Two adventurers plan to travel 5,700 miles on motorbikes this year for charity.
Stan Hulme and Matt Daly, both from Leicestershire, aim to cross the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland to the Children of the World monument at North Cape in Norway – Europes most northerly point accessible by car.
