LYDNEY man Karl Lumsden is preparing for a motor cycle adventure to Morocco to raise funds for the Great Oaks Dean Forest Hospice project.
Not content with the gruelling ride to north Africa – which will include a 1,500 mile journey across the Sahara – Karl will celebrate his 40th birthday by climbing Africa's third highest mountain. And he will be having his picture taken with a copy of the Review when he reaches the summit!
Karl, a self-employed builder who specialises in renovation work and carpentry, is undertaking the ride to raise money for the Forest hospice project.
"My mother has had three operations for cancer and I have friends in the Forest who have been affected in similar ways. I feel there is a real need for a hospice locally so I decided to try and do my bit to help," he said.
Karl, who lives at Springfield Road, says he is grateful for the support he is receiving from local people and businesses, without which the journey would not be possible.
Karl has previously worked for a company which organised expeditions to many parts of the world and he has friends living in a village at the foot of Mount Toubual who will make the climb with him.
He will be riding a Yamaha XTZ 750 Super Tenere, a specially prepared desert bike.
•You can follow Karl's epic bike ride in the Review. He will set off by ferry from Plymouth on September 30.