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A long ride for charity
• 17 Jan 2008 •
 FORTY-YEAR-OLD father of two Sean Murray from Dartford has just completed the incredible feat of riding solo from London to Gibraltar on his quad, a Yamaha Raptor YFM 700R. Sean’s adventure is all in aid of charity, and the money he raises will be donated to the National Autistic Society, an organisation which came to his attention and helped him come to terms with the shocking factswhen his eldest son Liam, aged nine, was diagnosed as having autism at five years old.
In April 2006, Sean and Stephen Edwards raised £2000 for the National Autistic Society by riding their quad bikes from London to John o Groats and back, some 1,660 miles. But this time, Sean wanted to do something even bigger and better, and set off from London at 11am on January 4, 2008, with no support vehicle, intending to get as far as Gibraltar. His trip was made in several stages including Dover, Calais, Paris, Le Mans, Bordeaux, the Pyrenees, across the Spanish border, down to Madrid, then Malaga and finally Gibraltar on January 9. By then, he had driven for more than 52 hours and covered 1,620 miles through all winds and weathers, with more than 100 stops for petrol (and a smoke!) and close to breaking his own personal record. Before heading home and completing more than 3,000 miles, Sean stopped off in Arroyo de la Miel to talk to The Euro Weekly News about his adventure. He was in good spirits despite the fact he had been denied entrance to Gibraltar itself at the British border control. But he had made it, he had got to The Rock, and he had the photos to prove it! Sean was accompanied in Malaga by Mark and Ann from Quad Moto Axarquia, who had looked after him, checked out his quad, given him a soft bed to sleep in and, much to his delight, plenty of porridge for breakfast. Sean was stunned by the beauty of the Spanish countryside and was most excited about having sat under an orange tree in the sun, being able to pick the fruit and eat it straight off the tree. He couldn’t thank Mark and Ann enough for all their kindness.
Sean told us how tough the trip had been and that many people had said he was mad for even attempting it. But for him it’s been a great adventure even though he has travelled in bitter cold and pouring rain, been stopped by the police and even got robbed at knifepoint while in Madrid. He’s broken down several times and had no-one to help, slept in a tent wherever he could and was taken some 50 miles out of his way after being pulled over by the French Gendarme. His specially prepared quad, which is registered in the UK, was tracked via the internet at all times and had all legal requirements. He carried with him his equipment, spares, repair kit, tent, triangles, clothes, some food and drink and not much else on what was the furthest trip made from the UK on a quad. Sean, as well as giving something back to the National Autistic Society and doing it for children who may not be fortunate enough to have a loving family to give them the care they need, also wanted to instil how important it is to use extreme safety precautions with quads, especially after recent accidents in the UK.
Sean, who is the Managing Director of his own haulage company, had the full support of his wife of 14 years and his two sons, who are all proud of the work he does for charity. Not only that, but he got a call from Scottish actor Ewan McGregor who expressed his support for Sean’s quest.
This adventurous and fun quad biker spoke to us lovingly of his sons. Liam, who he describes as a loving and intelligent child who is very proud of dad, goes to a mainstream school in Dartford and has a one to one teacher; and Ryan (5) likes all the typical things young boys love including cars, sports and being a little tearaway!
Sean is a great guy doing a great thing, so far he has raised more than £1,000 from donations, so if you can support him please visit www.justgiving.com/quadwaydow.
Take care, Sean, and good luck! |  Return to Top
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