A Helsby family who undertook a sponsored motorbike ride across South Asia have helped to raise around £25,000 to help burns victims.
Sian Falder, her husband Crag Jones and their children Eleanor and Owen are fresh from their trip of a lifetime from Nepal, through India, to Bangladesh, after riding 1,200 miles over ten days.
Plastic surgeon and burns specialist Sian, who works at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, took on the challenge as a member of Interburns, a global network of burns professionals.
Highlights for the family included visiting the Nepal Burns Society, where they received a memorable send-off in the form of an escort of Royal Enfield motorbikes, and Bodh Gaya – the place where Buddha is said to have obtained enlightenment.
Sian said: “The journey itself was absolutely great. We had wonderful moments where everyone was very happy and the scenery was beautiful.
“Other times it was really quite hard-going and there was so much traffic.
“It wasn’t a holiday – there was an element of discomfort about it.”
Hairy moments included multiple bike break-downs and getting separated from the car the children were travelling in on one occasion.
But would they like to do it again? “Yes,” she answered. “We really like adventures. But we’d do it slower – it was very much like an endurance test.”
Sian said the trip has converted her and Crag, who learnt to ride motorbikes specifically for the trip, to the joys of the open road.
The family was joined by Sian’s fellow Interburns members Tom Potokar and his wife Dominique as well as their two children Alex and Arthur.
A film-maker travelled with them and will be producing a DVD about the expedition, which will be sold to raise funds.
If you would like to donate, visit www.interburns.org.
