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Race for Africa
3 guys... 3 bikes... 3,000 miles... in 30 days.
Where are they? End of Day 30, Thames Barrier Park
How many miles? 2,945 miles
Money raised: £12,000
Check the latest news here...
Sponsor of the Day:
Welcome to WaterRelief: Race for Africa.
Here you will find all you need to know about this amazing challenge; a 3,000 mile bike race against the clock from London to Africa and back in 30 days.
Who 
Cyclists,Richard Barnes and brothers Sam and Ben Towndrow, have been cycling together since they were eight years old. Competing together in the Northern Mountain Bike Association race series and the British Mountain Biking Federation race series, they then moved to competitive road racing and represented the Lakes Road Club together. Sam also represented Great Britain at Junior Level in the World Championships in Germany in 1995. They have designed the WaterRelief™ Race as their ultimate test of endurance following Richard’s ‘Solo Lands End to John O'Groats’ event last year.
 When
The race will start at Kew Gardens, West London on Wednesday 4th May 2005 at 10.30 am. Richard, supported for two weeks each by Sam and Ben, will then have 30 days to cycle to Africa and back and must reach the finish line at Kew Gardens 3rd June 2005. There will be events at Kew Gardens for the launch and the Millennium Wheel for the finish, as well as a special return event at Century Club in London on Friday 3rd June also. More details about the events
Where
From Kew Gardens, Richard, and Sam will cycle down to Portsmouth where they will catch a ferry to Le Havre in northern France (cycling round the deck of course!). They will then head south through France, passing through towns such as Angers, Bordeaux and Biarritz until they reach the Pyrenees and the Spanish border. Once over the mountains and into Spain they pass through Pamplona, Puertollano and Malaga to reach the port of Algeciras and the Straight of Gibraltar. It’s a short ferry crossing to Tangier in Morocco and Africa! Then it’s a deep breath and with Ben taking over from Sam, it's back the way they came! See a map of the route
How
The race is 3,000 miles so Richard, Ben and Sam will need to cycle an average of 100 miles a day. That’s equivalent to cycling from London to Leicester every day! The trio have been road racing for several years, but have been training hard for months for this extraordinary test of stamina and strength. They will have a support vehicle travelling with them to help them achieve this incredible target. The support vehicle is a van and caravan, so that Richard, Sam and Ben can eat and sleep on the road, maximising the amount of time they can spend cycling. It will carry spare bike parts and tools so that any repairs can be made quickly, as well as all their kit, making their bikes as light and fast as possible. The support vehicle will be kitted out with communications equipment so that the team can keep us up to date with all the latest news. Richard, Sam and Ben will be keeping a daily diary and taking photos which you can see here, and you can also watch their progress on the route map here.
Why
 Richard, Sam and Ben are racing for WaterRelief, a programme run by Excellent Development. It helps communities in Kenya build dams that transform their lives. In semi-arid Africa one out of three rainy seasons fail, leaving food shortages for most farmers. People have to walk up to six miles a day to collect water and during severe droughts they may have to walk up to 18 miles a day in search of water. We build small scale dams that help an average of 1,000 people get a clean, regular water supply. It costs £5,000 to manage and build each dam. You can help make this happen by sponsoring Richard and Sam here. More information on WaterRelief and Excellent Development.
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