I learnt the sad news yesterday morning that Simon Milward had passed away. He died in a motorcycle accident in Mali. He had been biking around the world, a lifelong dream, since 1 January 2000, raising money for Medecins Sans Frontieres and Flores Project as he went.
I met Simon when I was learning to scuba dive on Pemba Island in Zanzibar. He was an instantly likeable chap from Exeter, and his bike had been hand-made in Newton Abbot, out of parts from all over the world. I remember him telling me that he had decided to go ahead and do it after an accident in Britain.
A couple of weeks ago I saw his face in the local paper, the Express & Echo, as he had had a bit of a prang in Ghana, on the way to meet a tribal king. Unfortunately, this meant he did not have the time to meet royalty, as he had to move on.
Then came the serious accident in Mali. The world is worse off without people like him.
His website is still active at www.millenniumride.com, and a Memorial Fund has been set up so that he can continue to raise money for the two charities after his death.
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