Evening Meeting and AGM

LPS Evening Meeting and AGM

Norman and Maggie Magowan

Monday 17th November, 6 pm, at Burlington House.

 

PAN-AMERICA MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE

In January 2004 Norman and Maggie Magowan exchanged their routine 9 to 5 existence in the South East of England for a grand motorcycling adventure up through the Americas. The trip was inspired by the loss of close family members to cancer, providing them with the motivation to use the trip as a fund-raiser for Cancer Research UK.

Their lives would experience a dramatic change in pace and direction, as they became biking nomads travelling on two BMW F650GS motorcycles along the Pan American Highway. The journey started in Chile, where they set off on the long road to Alaska, encountering some of the hottest, coldest, wettest and driest conditions on Earth along the way!

Norman and Maggie: "It wasn't a lightly made decision to turn our backs on a decent job with a good standard of living. Both of us have been in full employment since leaving school and have grown accustomed to that regular paycheck at the end of every month. However our peaceful, happy-go-lucky world was turned upside down and then finally shattered through dealing with cancer in both of our immediate families. First, Norman's Dad died from duodenal cancer that took his life at 66. Then Maggie's brother, David, became another victim of lung cancer and he died quickly, too soon at the age of 48."

"Our world was permanently scarred and changed. These events challenged our own existence and made us question what we really wanted from the rest of our lives. One of the things that kept us going through the bad times was the belief that good times would surely follow and so we began to re-examine our dreams. Foremost of these was a desire to undertake a major extended journey, preferably by bike. We had pondered such a trip for a number of years but had always found excuses in work, building a home or lack of funds to put it off. But now those dreams gained a new priority."

"Overland to Oz or a run up the Americas looked good. The then current situation in the Middle East put paid to the first, but the second looked very feasible. The next problem was one of our old excuses for not doing it - how to pay for it. The 'rainy day' had been and gone and the 'save something' would just about cover the cost of the bikes we would need. Then Norman's work announced that they were seeking volunteers for a severance scheme and the reward for 15 years of faithful service was enough to fund the trip. At this point it became an easy and obvious choice to make."

"But realising this dream journey was only part of it. We also wanted to fight back at the cancer, this disease that has taken such a toll on our lives. We decided to dedicate our Pan-American Adventure as a fundraiser for Cancer Research UK. We believe that if we can help in any small way to relieve someone else's suffering then it has got to be worth doing."