The 2013 Scoots team is slowly coming together with 9 riders so far confirmed following the Throckmorton meeting and several others awaiting meetings when I return from Gambia at the end of April. The year has started off as it looks like continuing… Hectic! Having only returned home 2 weeks ago after spending 3 weeks out in Bansang, I am just about to fly out once more; this time for about two months ( I have an open return ticket). However, as soon as I get back, my plan is to jump on my faithfull old BMW Airhead and head back down to Bansang to sort out some new routes through Morocco and Mauritania whilst also trying to get a feeling for the security (or otherwise) for the region, prior to taking the Team through to the Hospital in October.

This years trip is scheduled to leave Portsmouth on 18^th October returning 4 weeks later by air. It looks as though we will have a twelve seater minibus as our backup vehicle which is being provided and prepared by Dave, our driver. The vehicle will be well used at the hospital, amongst it’s many and varied tasks will be to take staff out to work on the hospitals farm project which is about 15 miles from Bansang, close to the Senegalese border along some rather dodgy tracks.

As on previous trips we will be mainly wild camping along our route and I’m hoping that by leaving in October, the weather through Spain may be a little kinder to us, although it must be said that last year we were luck enough to have good weather all the way. So far I have only got one returnee on the run, Jim Cunliffe who came with us in 2010, but I’m hoping that we may see a couple more joining later on in the year before out first full team meeting on 6^th/7^th July.

A new Virgin Giving page will be up and running soon, but if you wish to donate please don’t wait as it all ends up in the same pot… The Bansang Hospital Appeal.