Just a quick note to bring some attention to a charity fund raising motorcycle ride that a friend of mine is trying to get off the ground. I won't go in to loads of detail here, as you can visit the website yourself and see what its all about. Basically, its a ride around the UK by Phil and girlfriend Nic on two Vstrom 650's. The aim of which is to raise as much money as possible for the charity Cancer Research. please visit their website at Long Way Round UK - Home and give your support/sponsorship to this worthy project.
Many thanks for taking the time to read this.

I wish you all a safe and happy 2008

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Give a little,.. take a little,.. live alot.
Ride safe and stay happy!
FireHorse.

At the risk of accusations of being curmudgeonly, my reaction is one big yawn. So someone is riding 3000 miles for fun, yet wants others to dig into their pockets. Why don't they just give from their own pockets instead?

The similarity to the Long Way Round/Down logo is likely to get your friends into substantial trouble unless it has been cleared in advance. Passing off is the term.

And then the moans about Premier Travel Inns and Travel Lodge are hardly going to encourage people to associate with the project. Why on earth should these companies discount to you???

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Thanks for your comments Tim, I appreciate similar things have been done before, but this is two people who simply want to raise some money for a worthy charity.
Its not unusual for big companies/names to get onboard with projects like this especially by assisting with accomodation/vehicles/equipment...etc. Rarely do they just hand over cash. Point taken re the logo! nuff said. Thanks for taking the time to look at their website, I think Phil did a great job of it. I know the whole project is still in the early stages and is still a work in progress, but I wish them all the best.

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Give a little,.. take a little,.. live alot.
Ride safe and stay happy!
FireHorse.

I'm afraid you'll find that big companies/names rarely get onboard with projects such as this as they get many, many requests like yours.
But good luck.

I've been involved with several charity events in the past and I've always been amazed at the number of big companies/names that have come onboard.
We've had bikes (loaned), meals, accomodation, servicing, clothing, equipment, publicity, transport (including flights) and many other things generously donated previously. I think sometimes it's how you approach these companies/names that makes a big difference (& sometimes it's who you know, plus a good track record).
I've got no personal involvement in this project, I just wish it well.

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Give a little,.. take a little,.. live alot.
Ride safe and stay happy!
FireHorse.

Hi Tim and thanks for the comments.

We have approached Long Way Round Ltd for their endorsement and are still awaiting their approval. Charley Boorman himself is aware of the trip so we're hoping for a positive response.

We're not in anyway attempting to pass ourselves off as Mr McGregor or Mr Boorman - what we are simply trying to do is raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research.

I have been riding for quite a few years on and off but both my girlfriend and I only passed our test via DAS in August 2007 and had already decided that this was a trip we wanted to do so we also decided to put the 2 together and raise money for a worthy cause.

If I had £5000 spare to give I would GLADLY donate it to Cancer Research - but I haven't so we're doing what we can to help.

The opportunity for big (and small) companies to get onboard is a chance for them to show themselves in a good light - all to often you hear of companies making tens of millions of pounds profit, sometimes billions, but very little is spoken of any charity work that they do.

Point taken about Premier Travel Inn's but I also think that it's important to show that some companies don't REALLY want to know you unless you are high profile.

There's an old story that goes something like this:

Traveller "Excuse me, do you have a room for the night?"

Innkeeper "No, we don't and besides you are wet and dirty - we don't want your kind here"

Traveller "OK, but if Prince Charles turned up in a similar state you'd find him a room wouldn't you ?"

Innkeeper "Well, of course we would - he's our future King"

Traveller "Well, he's not coming so can I please have HIS room"

Apologies Firehorse.
I tried to help someone get sponsorship a while ago and we ended up, after an awful lot of work, with virtually zero.
Maybe the approach was wrong, I don't know, but it was very disappointing at the time.

Sorry it didn't work out for you Hustler. I had some great contacts which helped out hugely (although not always). I know cold calling is hard work and not always sucessful. Best wishes

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Give a little,.. take a little,.. live alot.
Ride safe and stay happy!
FireHorse.

I've always thought of it this way. What do the companies get back for there money? Because that's how you have to think of it. So any sponsorhip approach you make has to show what that company gets back, approaching the media before you approach companies seems to help, and being able to show existing media coverage helps even more.

I've also found that sometimes small companies respond better than big ones do. Sometimes a hotel chain's head office will turn you down but the individual hotel manager will do what they can. Big companies get loads of approaches, and also have big budgets to spend on publicity. Small companies don't have either of these, and sometimes they're happy to give you £50 worth to help on your way.

I'm not certain on the knockbacks page, it might put people off.

Good luck on this.

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I have always found it strange that people want others to pay for their jollies.

Why not just give the amount you would spend on the jaunt to the charity.
Its probably more than you would make in sponsorship anyway.

John

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Nostradamus Ate My Hamster

Hi Again

As it seems that the knockbacks section isn't a good idea I will take the advice and take it down and replace it with something else.

Regarding the media coverage - we have a professional PR team (thanks to Breville UK also) that is intending to promote us using their contacts. They have several high profile "celebrities" that they regularly use for their products and also lots of TV, radio and printed media contacts.

I'm not saying that this will be a media circus - far from it - but the more exposure we can get the better I suppose.

Redboots - we're not getting someone to pay for our jollies - We can do either of the things that we want to do. Either we donate and forego the trip or we go on the trip and don't donate. This way we get to do the trip AND raise money in the process.
Cancer Research is thankful for any money that they get so we're doing something that will hopefully raise more than we can afford to donate individually.

I'm sure that a lot of people are happy to donate a small sum to charity but if they can actually relate it to something that they themselves do or would like to do then they are inclined to donate a little more.

At the end of the day if we raise just £1 more than we can afford to donate as individuals then Cancer Research is a winner.

We don't expect everyone to jump onboard and wish us well as there is always an element who feel that what others do isn't to their liking but as the saying goes "The world would be a boring place if we were all the same"

You state you have approached Long Way Round Ltd & Mr C. Boorman Esq for 'approval' yet you HAVE used the Long Way Round Logo on your website, presumably without permission? Use of Logos, Trademarks, and other forms of Corporate Identification without permission is liable to win you zero friends and possibly a Copyright Infringement Court case!

Just thought you should be aware of that fact before you let too many people see that logo.

Martyn

I have no issue with raising money for charity while doing something you are essentially doing for your own benefit. I've done it myself so it would be hypocritical. My theory was "Well, I'm going anyway so if people are going to be kind enough to sponsor me then some starving kiddies will reap the benefit..."

However, I do find the 'Charity Knock Backs' page bordering on the offensive. Why the f*ck should someone provide you with free accomodation just because you are doing your jolly for charity? If someone offers you freebies then great, but criticising a company because they don't to join in is ridiculous. Who knows what other charitable commitments they have?

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http://scotlandnepal.blogspot.com/

*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

Had you read my post above I have already said that I will be removing the knockbacks section.

There's no need to be offensive yourself with your bad language, I can swear with the best but feel that this is not the place to do it.

Also I cannot see how the page offends you unless you are connected to the organisation listed.

Travelodge advised us of their charity committments and we have listed that - as you would have seen had you correctly read the page. However Premier Travel Inns clearly stated that unless it involves NATIONAL coverage they weren't interested.

I'm not about to get into a slanging match with anyone, only to say that it's not big and it's not clever

Regarding the logo - seeing as it has generated a talking point then I'll look at producing a bespoke logo but if there's anyone out there with any ideas for it then please contact me with your ideas and I'll happily give you the credit.

I just did not want to see you getting yourself into hot water when all you were trying to do was raise some money for a Charity.
It appears that there are many differing ideas and attitudes as to the 'right' way to go about it, but I am sure your Hearts are in the right place and your motives are good.