Newbury man hits hurdles on charity rally

Danny Harrow has been a victim of crime and dealt with several foreign embassies in the first month of his trip

A NEWBURY man, who gave up his job at Vodafone to travel more than 12,000 miles on his scooter for charity, has already experienced varying degrees of weather, been the victim of crime and dealt with a number of foreign embassies during the first month of his trip.

Danny Harrow of London Road, Newbury, is taking part in the Mongolia Charity Rally which runs from London to the Mongol capital of Ulaanbaatar, and which will see him travel across 17 countries, as well as the Arctic Circle and Gobi Desert.

The 30-year-old left on April 21, giving himself 121 days to travel the 12,044 miles on his newly purchased 85cc Honda C90 scooter, which he calls Sprocket and cruises between 30-40mph.

Mr Harrow, who is currently in Riga, Latvia, trying to obtain a visa to enter Uzbekistan, admitted the trip had not started so well after he got lost on his way to Dover.

He said: “I got a little lost around Basingstoke, and was following Google Navigator on my phone for the first time, which took me on some crazy back roads because I have to avoid motorways.”

The New Zealander, who moved to Newbury two years ago, has hit one or two hurdles along the way with his laptop being stolen in Berlin and losing his New Zealand flag in Poland, where he also experienced snow after travelling through the Carpathian mountains.

His scooter has already had a few technical issues with two blow outs in Lithuania where he also stumbled upon a music festival in the country's capital, Vilnius.

“Professional and amateur musicians were busking everywhere,” Mr Harrow said. “On one street you'd have someone playing electronic music, then six meters down from them would be a trio of young girls playing recorders, then another six meters you have someone wailing on an electric guitar. It was a brilliant cacophony everywhere you went.”

The 30-year-old has also visited the Hill of Crosses in northern Lithuania, a monument to Christ which includes thousands of crucifixes, and Trakai Island Castle, also in Lithuania, which is the only island castle in eastern europe.

To sponsor the Newbury man or to keep up-to-date with his blog, click on the link below.