Copy of article as it appeared in The
Courier, Newcastle Monday 26th November,
7,631 MILES, 26 countries, 31 days. This is the challenge that four daring young adventurers are embarking on next August. Former student of the University and Courier cartoonist Mike Finlay and his friends Flick Copp, Sarah Lonbay and Mikey Mansergh aim to complete the task of circling the outer perimeter of Europe, starting and ending at Stonehenge...on motorbikes.
Having allowed themselves just 31 days to complete the massive journey, the challenge will test their planning, endurance and luck as the team race against time through no less than 30 international borders. Add to that the fact that currently none of the team holds a motorcycle licence and it is clear that the element of skill involved in navigating their way across the continent in this particular fashion is a significant achievement in itself.
The team met last summer while working for a water sports company in France, upon returning to the UK, bike enthusiast Mikey Mansergh used his friends as a soundboard for an idea that he had always fancied, their reaction sealed the deal; team Enduro Europe was born. 
Two months down the line and the route has been identified and the targets have been set. What started as an adventure for the sake adventure has become a mass fundraising incentive. The charities UNICEF, Help the Aged and RNLI will directly benefit from the funds raised by the project which aims to raise £5000 for each of them as well as the cost of the equipment and visas the team will need. This figure is however just an initial benchmark, I spoke to Mike Finlay and he told that recent similar, but smaller scale expedition to Kiev raised around £40,000 which has given the Enduro team, with their much more daring venture hope that they can far exceed this figure.
The Enduro Europe project has also had significant support from UNICEF in their bid to secure sponsorship and Evan McGregor and Charley Boorman authors of the inspiring "Long way round" have donated signed copies of the book to be given away in prize draws for sponsors in order t encourage donations to the project. Mike explained the sort of encounters that they were preparing themselves for on their expedition, "we will ride first to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne before taking the ferry into Stavanger, Norway. From there we will be riding north across the Arctic circle in 24 hour sunlight before riding across Sweden" he said describing what will be only the first few days of their trip. When asked what the mood was about the project now that it was really becoming a reality, "it varies, some days we want to leave tomorrow and some days it feels like we'll never be ready in time" he told The Courier. "It's really exciting but the more you look into what you need and how to balance it with the need to restrict the weight on the bikes, the more you realise how much is dependent on luck and the help of the locals."
Over the next 8 months the team will be hosting a variety of fundraising events including a charity gig and online competitions. For anyone interested in the team and their adventures, more information is available on their website www.EnduroEurope.webs.com. All at The Courier wish them the best of luck with their efforts.
By Fran Infante
Quartet to tackle Euro bike challenge
By Craig Evry
Michael, top left, with his friends
THE televised adventures of actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman have inspired a Wiltshire man to embark on a motorbike trek across 26 countries.
Michael Mansergh, 24, of Cooks Close in Seend will be joined by three friends on a charity trek across Europe, inspired by BBC2 shows Long Way Round and Long Way Down.
In the latest series screened before Christmas, film star McGregor and his friend Boorman travel by motorbike from John O'Groats to Cape Aghulas in Africa.
Mr Mansergh, a qualified windsurfing and sailing instructor, has drummed up support from three friends in Worcestershire for the challenge of a lifetime.
The quartet, nicknamed Team Enduro, will leave Stonehenge at 7am on August 1, travelling first to Scandinavia, then Russia and eastern Europe and onto Italy, Spain and France.
The team hopes to raise up to £40,000 to be donated to three charities - Unicef, the RNLI and Help the Aged.
Mr Mansergh said he initially hoped the challenge, which will be completed on BMW F650 bikes, would be completed within a month, but he admits it realistically will take at least 50 days.
He will be writing a blog throughout the trip while one of the bikes will be fitted with a satellite GPS so their progress can be monitored online.
Mr Mansergh said: "I have always wanted to do a bike ride but I saw Ewan and Charlie do it and knew I definitely wanted to do it.
"It was a great inspiration for me. I have watched the DVDs and read the books.
"It's a crazy idea but exciting at the same time."
Mr Mansergh met his team mates while in France last year. He pitched the idea through social networking website Facebook.
The team members have yet to pass their tests to be fully licensed to ride the bikes, but have been given free training by Pheonix Motorcycle Training in Amesbury.
They are appealing for donations and sponsorship to help them compile the kit needed for the trip and raise money for the three charities.
A signed copy of Long Way Round, the book accompanying the TV series, is being offered as a competition prize. Details of the competition, the trip and a list of kit needed can be found on their website www.enduroeurope .co.uk This website will also feature a blog and progress reports.
Felicity prepares for cycle challenge
From the Malvern Gazette, first published Tuesday 1st Jan 2008.
A CRADLEY woman is one of a team of four adventurers who plan to ride motorbikes more than 7,000 miles through Europe.
Felicity Copp, aged 26, is taking part in the Enduro Europe 2008 challenge, which aims to cover 26 countries in a month and raise money for charity as well.
She will be joined in the adventure by her friends Mike Finlay of Worcester, Sarah Lonbay of Evesham and Mikey Mansergh of Wiltshire.
The aim is to raise at least £5,000 for each of three charities: UNICEF, the RNLI and Help the Aged.
And it's made more interesting by the fact that none of the four hold current motorbike licenses, and they begin training for their tests this week.
The plan is to set off from Stonehenge on August 1 this year, and go up to Newcastle to catch a ferry over to Norway. The route then goes through Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Russia, eastern Europe and the Balkans before heading west through Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.
Eventually the bikers will return to Stonehenge, having covered 7,631 miles in 31 days on their BMW 650 machines, if all goes according to plan.
"It should be brilliant, I'm really looking forward to it," said Felicity.
Among the team's supporteres are stars Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, who have donated signed copies of their book Long Way Around, about their own motorcycle adventures, as raffle prizes.
To find out more, visit http://enduroeurope.webs.c
THREE former Worcester students have been learning to ride motorbikes ready for a 7,000 mile journey across Europe.
Mike Finlay, Sarah Lonbay and Flick Copp, who all attended King's School, Worcester, will be joined by friend Mikey Mansergh for the epic trip later this year.
They will travel 7,631 miles across 26 countries and 30 borders.
Mr Finlay, aged 25, said: "The idea came about when Mikey, who Sarah and I had met while working for a watersports company in France, e-mailed us looking for friends to accompany him on a ride to Greece and back - the small issue being that he had no licence. Sarah and I jumped at the opportunity and I discussed the idea of extending the route and doing the ride for charity. I came back with some route plans at around the same time we'd confirmed that Flick Copp would join the team.
"We have all wanted to ride before but never found the time or money to complete our full motorbike training. This seemed like the perfect chance to learn and gain huge experience while helping our some causes that were close to our hearts. The ride was born and support grew quickly, including Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman who sent us signed copies of the book The Long Way Round to raffle off."
The riders have been training with Phoenix Motorcycle School, official sponsor to the ride. The firm is taking the team through full tests, including over £4,000 worth of training on and off-road over the coming weeks.
The ride will start from Stonehenge at 7am on Friday, August 1. The team will ride north to Newcastle before taking an overnight ferry into Stavanger, Norway.
From here, the ride will travel north into the Arctic Circle before beginning its clockwise loop south east through Sweden, Finland, Russia, and South and Eastern Europe.
Mr Finlay said: "Arriving in Turkey, we will turn west into Greece and north along the Adriatic through Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia. From here we will head through northern Italy into France and on to Andorra, Spain and Portugal our final leg towards Calais via Madrid and Biarritz."
The group is raising funds for Unicef, Help the Aged and the RNLI. They are currently hosting a range of fund-raising events, including an online competition to win one of the team's BMW F650 motorbikes.
