Weds 8th November: Mandalay – Myinmu – Monywa

Today was an amazing long day - jam packed with all the Cycle Expedition ingredients!

We arrived in Mandalay at the crack of dawn via our chosen means of sustainable transportation: the overnight sleeper train from Yangon. It was an incredibly noisy and bumpy 15 hours journey - which meant little or no sleep for any of us - but it was a very memorable trip too full of local people, sights and sounds. The restaurant car with its smoky cooker, school tables and chairs, frilly curtains, and loud pop music was our favourite carriage!

We hurried down a traditional Burmese breakfast of Shan Noodle soup at a street cafe and then visited our first Rural Health Centre near Sagaing.  It was a very simple new building serving 5,000 people in a rural farming area. Some of the group interviewed the nursing staff to understand the medical issues whilst others of us recorded the building itself through sketches and photographs.

After a short bus transfer to the small town of Myinmu, our cycle challenge began! Here I got acquainted with my bike for the trip: a red Trek mountain bike with suspension super fat knobbly tyres (so it's definitely going to be a lot tougher than my carbon road bike then!).

We cycled on and off road through the Chindwin Valley which gave us a real glimpse of rural life: oxen pulling farm carts, and many different crops growing alongside lots of rice!  Before dark we made it just in time to visit the world’s largest standing Buddha Laykyun Setkyar, in the village of Khatakan Taung. It stands an incredible 116m tall and standing behind one of the largest reclining Buddhas in the country - a truly remarkable sight. Our last stop of the day was the magnificent temple Thanboddhay Pagoda, covered with over 500,000 images of Buddha. 

Tonight we are staying in the tiny town of Monywa. Resting up in quieter, comfier beds and getting plenty of carbs on board before a much longer (and hotter) full day on the bikes tomorrow. 

Pre-ride research: Yangon

We have arrived safely in Yangon after a long trip from London, via Bangkok.

Over these first days - before starting cycling - we have been meeting with the Article 25 staff based here in Yangon, meeting local people and sharing our UK professional experience, and understanding the local issues. As part of this we have participated in local workshops on heritage architecture, sustainability and healthcare design. It is wonderful to meet so many dedicated and inspiring people studying and working to achieve progressive change for Myanmar.

Today has been the most important and memorable day with our trip to the Yangon General Hospital with A25's team leader Josine Lambert. We left feeling really inspired about the potential importance of the cycling and research ahead - which starts tomorrow!

Here we go...!

So... after all the getting ready the big day has finally arrived! Sitting here at Terminal 2 at Heathrow with all my bike kit, research kit, (and medical stuff!) in a big black bag - about to leave for Yangon. And just packed is my brand new Article25 cycle shirt which we will all be wearing on the bikes.

Thank you so much for all the messages of support that have got me to the start line, and of course to my family for getting me to the station - and for letting me go!

Here we go...!

Family Cycle Expedition UK

Our own family 'cycle expedition UK' on Saturday - to Grandma's! Charlotte (aged 11) has done a bit of cycling with me before and had almost done the 30km distance before - but I was amazed that Isabel (aged 8) managed to smile all the way too.  Well done girls - great effort!

 

Things that go Crunch!

Yes this photo is the right way up, and it's what happens when your rear derailleur gets caught in your back wheel. It's immediate game over for your ride - and time to carry your bike home! And that's exactly what happened to me on Saturday. Time to find a bike shop!

Riders' send-off party - 1 week to go!

With just 7 days to go until we head out to Myanmar we had the great pleasure of a brilliant 'send-off party' held at our FCBStudios London offices on Thursday evening.  With a packed house we enjoyed an evening of Burmese food and drinks as we shared thoughts and hopes for the research and riding ahead.

Chairman of Article 25 Sunand Prasad gave a speech about the important purpose and work of the charity and its projects, featuring the Yangon General Hospital project in Myanmar, which we will visit at the start of our trip. And ride leader Tom Dollard gave everyone an outline of the purpose of our research work and an idea of the 500+miles of cycling that lies ahead for us.

Undoubtedly the highlight of the evening were the performances traditional Burmese dance by Hitkhe. She enthralled everyone with two dances she had choreographed herself to traditional music, giving everyone a real sense of Burmese culture.

The evening raised plenty of cash through donations at the bar and left us riders feeling ready for the adventure and challenges ahead. We're feeling ready... sort of.... nearly!

The plight of the Rohingya refugees

Over the past weeks it has been extremely sad to see and hear the regular news reports of the shocking and tragic plight of the Rohingya musilms in Myanmar and Bangladesh.  And in light of these current events I have been carefully reflecting on whether going ahead with participation in this planned research trip is the right thing to do. 

I have reached the view that, on balance, supporting such a trustworthy British-based charity as Article 25, which is committed to directly improving healthcare and living conditions for some of the poorest people in the world, is exactly the right thing to do.  

As a result I hope that I may learn something more about the current problems, and in some way help to give direct hope and support to others in need, and to those who are seeking more principled outcomes for all people in Myanmar, including those of minority groups.

My Myanmar sketchbook #1

As part of the Myanmar trip I'm hoping there will be time to sketch some of the buildings we'll see along the way.  I've been warming up with a few quick sketches of Myanmar buildings (from photos) to see how long they take.  These two are in pencil and each took 45-60 mins:

The Sule Pagoda is at the very centre of downtown Yangon.  According to legend, it was built during the time of the Buddha - making it more than 2,500 years old!

2The High Court Building was designed by architect James Ransome, construction of the High Court began in 1905 and was completed in 1911.

Hopefully more to follow!

Getting the needle...

I'm off the bike and feeling a bit feverish this weekend having just been injected with a lot of the vaccinations I will need for the trip. I've been pumped up with drugs against Cholera, Typhoid, Rabies, Polio, Hepatitis and Diptheria. There's also a small fortune's worth of anti-Malaria tablets on the way! 

But I'm humbled to be reminded that it's a real privilege to have such amazing healthcare available to us in the UK, and this is a key motivation for joining a venture seeking better healthcare for those far less fortunate.

Diary date: Expedition send-off party at FCBStudios London...

We're organising a fun gathering at the end of October in London to celebrate the start of the Article 25 Cycle Expedition. Details below. All welcome - let me know if you can make it and hope to see you there!