For a good cause Riders for Health and Yamaha joined their forces into organizing a raid, named ‘Ride for Life’. The raid will help to support health workers in Africa by giving them means of tough and reliable transport to perform their invaluable work and reach isolated communities in Africa.
A group of Dakar veterans, journalists and five selected participants from the general public will take a fleet of Super Ténéré bikes and supporting vehicles from Paris to Lisbon to Morocco. At the end of the raid, Yamaha and its network of partners will donate to Riders for Health five Super Ténérés and a supporting package of essential replacement parts which will ensures 3 years of perfect operation in the severe African circumstances.
Riders for Health has chosen to operate these five Super Ténérés in the Eastern province of Zambia. These motorcycles will help to improve the delivery of health care in rural communities by ensuring the efficient detection and diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases. To date Riders for Health have mobilized five couriers who will help to deliver blood samples by motorcycle.
In 2010, Riders will be mobilising another five professional sample couriers as well as 15 health workers who will provide primary health care to local population. The Ride for Life will be kick-started under the Eiffel tower, by the famous French adventure rider David Frétigné. He will join a team of European motorcycle journalists, riding the Super Ténéré for the very first time, to Toulouse. From there, Franco Picco will take over and take another group of journalists to Madrid, where Stephane Peterhansel will join a third press group for their ride to Lisbon. From Lisbon on it’s up to some privileged customers to take over. Together with Helder Rodriguez – 4th in the 2010 Dakar Rally – they will be riding from the Portuguese capital down to the North African coast.
The raid will be going through the extraordinary, craggy beauty of the Atlas Mountains to the final destination: the exotic city of Marrakech. It’s here that on May 17th Yamaha will donate these 5 Super Ténéré bikes to the humanitarian organization Riders for Health. “Yamaha is proud to support the invaluable work performed by Riders for Health. We hope our Super Ténéré bikes can contribute to make a difference to many hundreds of people who are currently without access to the medication they need to stay healthy,” said Arno Sunnotel, Yamaha Motor Europe’s Division Manager.
Riders for Health Riders for Health ensures health care workers in Africa always have access to a vehicle which never breaks down, no matter how harsh the conditions. Training health care workers to ride safely and carry out daily checks on their vehicle means they can deliver health care, reliably, to even the remotest community. Their programmes of regular maintenance by skilled technicians and ensuring all of the people that work in Riders’ programmes are nationals of the countries concerned, means they are creating a practical and sustainable approach to health care delivery in Africa. ”We are delighted that Yamaha Europe are helping to support our work in Africa with this event.
This is another great example of the motorcycle community coming together to help some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people by ensuring they can receive the basic health care the developed world takes for granted. These motorcycles will make a big difference to our work in Zambia, and we are very grateful to everyone that has helped to make this possible,” said Andrea Coleman, CEO Riders for Health. The special Yamaha blog page http://rideforlife.super-tenere.com will have daily updates with all the latest information on the trip. The public will also be able to follow the Ride for Life Raid via Twitter and Facebook.
Extensive Explanation of the Route – The Ride For Life is split into 4 parts: Paris – Toulouse The Raid starts on the 4th of May 2010 in Paris at the iconic Eiffel Tower, the original starting point for the Dakar Rally. Here Yamaha Dakar legend David Frétigné will kick off the ride and will journey through the breathtaking mountains and plateaux of the Massif Central to Toulouse.
Toulouse – Madrid From Toulouse Franco Picco takes over and the trip snakes through the Pyrenees into the Monegros Desert, down through central Spain to Alcala de Henares – the birthplace of the modern Spanish language.
Madrid – Lisbon In Madrid Stephane Peterhansel will join the Ride for Life. The route leaves Alcala de Henares to pass through the stunning scenery of the Extremadura, over the Sierra da Estrela, and into Lisbon – another historic point on the route of the Dakar Rally.
Customers Trip With an official kick off lunch in Lisbon on May 12th it’s here that the customers’ role in the adventure begins. As part of a team of five people, they’ll be tasked with delivering the bikes safely to Marrakech, Morocco.
Day 1 – Thursday 13th of May – Lisbon to Jerez, Spain The Ride for Life group will head out through the streets of Lisbon towards the sunny Andalusia. After a full day of riding they will reach Jerez de la Frontera, the fifth largest city in Andalusia and also home to the impressive Circuito de Jerez where the famous Jerez MotoGP race is held every year.
Day 2 – Friday 14th of May : Jerez to Ceuta to Fes, Morocco After a short morning ride, the group reaches Algeciras where they will board the ferry to Ceuta, Morocco. We keep on heading south till we reach Fes, a former capital of Morocco and today a UNESCO world heritage site.
Day 3 – Saturday 15th of May : Fes to Merzouga, Morocco The route leaves Fes to pass through the extraordinary, craggy beauty of the Atlas Mountains to reach the final destination: Merzouga; the gateway to the Sahara.
Day 4 – Sunday 16th of May: Merzouga to Ouarzazate, Morocco From Merzouga the trip heads to the city of Ouarzazate in southern-central Morocco
Day 5 – Monday 17th of May: Ouarzazate to Marrakech Easy morning ride into the trendy city of Marrakech, also known as the “Red City”. Official hand-over of the 5 Super Ténéré bikes to Riders for Health.
Tuesday 18th of May – Departure day
Contact Information:
Yamaha Motor Europe NV
Renzo Moscou : +31 20 6546 000
Raffaella Pasquino: +31 20 6546 000