More supporters

We would like to add a few more names to our list of supporters that was previously posted. People just keep coming up and donating money or supporting us in other ways and we'd like to thank them very much.

Brian Garnier
Paul Kirvan
Hans Smits
Andrea Rogers

For those that are still wanting to donate, please know that we are fund raising throughout the entire trip, so there is lots of time. You can donate online at http://www.tourdafrique.com/donate or by sending a cheque payable to "The Tour d'Afrique Foundation" to:

Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
196 Spadina Avenue, Suite 407
Toronto, Ontario
M5T 2C2 CANADA

In either case, please be sure to state "In support of Andrew McLellan's student fund raising discount" or "In support of Judy Garnier's student fund raising discount" (depending on your preference) in the comments box/memo line. Since we are no longer around, we can no longer accept cash donations.

Thanks once again to the new supporters and to all previous supporters. So far we have raised enough money to buy 50 bikes for healthcare workers in Africa which has exceeded our expectations.

We are in Dubai enjoying our last bit of "vacation" and having Andrew's brother's wedding reception (and doing any last minute cycling preparation) before heading to Cairo soon.

Thats all for now!

Merry Christmas!!!

We hope everyone is having a festive day back home and, as we understand it, a very white Christmas for everyone! Not quite the case here...it is sunny and 35 degrees. Sorry to break the news...

Well, Colin and Asha are now officially married. For those that don't know, the wedding date was December 25th. The main part of the cermony was this morning and we are leaving for the reception in about an hour. We are 12.5 hours ahead of mountain time in Canada so most of you are still sleeping or just getting up to open some presents and stockings depending on where you reside.

We had a little taste of Christmas a few days ago when we attended the Christmas party for the Madras Boat Club. It was a strange experience sitting on a patio in the warmth having a full turkey dinner and listening to Christmas carols being sung in English by a male quartet with thick Indian accents. Adds a new twist to some of our old favourite carols. It was nice to get a bit of Christmas though and it made us miss our usual Christmas celebrations.

But, there were other celebrations that were equally joyous at the wedding. It was an amazing experience being at an Indian wedding. There will be pictures coming at some point since literally thousands were taken and there was also a film crew, so be patient and I am sure numerous people will start posting pictures on facebook and other places shortly. It is hard to really explain what went on at the wedding, and we weren't sure what was happening sometimes. But, they ended up married at the end of it, and everyone was exceedingly happy.

We leave for Dubai in two days for another wedding reception and we will be there for new years before heading off to Africa on the 2nd of January.

Once again, best holliday wishes to all and a Happy New Year!!!

Thank you to those that have sent us back little emails, it is great to hear what is going on in your neck of the woods.

Bye for now!

Andrew & Judy

People...Everywhere!

I guess we will start this off with why exactly we are in India in the first place (for those that are perhaps wondering why our "African Cycling Expedition" is in India)
Andrew's older brother is getting married in Southern India, so we are here as a little pre-Africa vacation. On December 27th we leave for Dubai (for part 2 of the wedding) and then pff to Cairo on January 2nd for the start of the cycling. So for all of you that donated, no we didn't just take off with your money on an elaborate vacation!

So India is crowded! There are litrally people everywhere, doing everything from farming, sleeping and of course trying to sell everything under the sun. We've visited two more cities along our way, the first was Agra; home to the famous Taj Mahal, which really does deserve to be one of the wonders of the world. Its beauty is truly mesmorizing.The city of Agra itself is also quite beautiful, and my favourite part is that there were rhesus monkeys everywhere!
Now we are in Jaipur staying at a really cool hotel which used to be the home of the Maharaja. Its called the Bissau Palace if you are inclined to google it. This evening was one of the most fun filled that we have had so far. We went up to the roof of our hotel, and to our astonishment, the sky was filled with hundreds of kites! From every rooftop as far as we could see families were flying kites, it was such a magnificent sight! A few kites came loose and landed naer us, so we tried our hand at it, much more difficult than we thought! When we were done, we gave the kites we found to some little boys on the next rooftop. We didn't think something could top the elephant ride that we also took today, but it did! Overall a fantastic trip so far. Tomorrow we fly to Chennai for the wedding!

Still having some trouble uploading pictures, although we hope that we will be able to put some up in Chennai or Dubai! At the very least we will have some up for the Africa trip.

That's all for now! Ciao!

Here we are in Delhi, India

We finally arrived in India! Our flight out of Edmonton was delayed by 8 hours, there was a problem with an engine sensor (likely due to the fact that it was -30) so they had to fly in another airplane for us from Vancouver. After a quick stop for a day in London, where we went to Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and the National Gallery, we were on our way again. We stayed in a fantastically quaint little hotel in London, and had a delicious dinner at a little Italian place right down the street. Lunch was at "The Cafe in the Crypt" in the basement of St-Marten's-in-the-Field. (a little morbid, but absolutely delicious!)

Now we are in Old Delhi, we toured the Red Fort last night, which is monstrous, and today we are off to tour New Delhi. Our hotel is magnificent, and the service is out of the world! The people here take such pride in their jobs!

Thats all for now, my half hour of computor time is almost up!

Judy & andrew

Thank you!

We set off in just 2 days for the first stage of our trip (my brother's wedding in India) and before we go, we would like to thank all of our donors and sponsors (so far!) for all of their support!  We are just $200 shy of our $8000 fundraising goal, thanks to everyone listed below.

395 RCACS Parents Association
Alf & Trish Conradi
Alvina Mardhani
Amanda Vella
Amy Jenkins
Andres Sepa
Andrew Fichtner
Angela Comer
Blaine Beaven
Bob Edmiston
Bruce McLellan
Carl Conradi
Carla Costuros
Carol Marshall
Catriona Misfeldt
Cindy Hurtig & Ron Burrow
Cloe Whittaker
Councillor Ben Henderson
Dale Bawol
Dale McLean
Darryle Noble
David Jackson
Dave Northam
David Sykes
Deb & Vince Macintyre
Disa Simonar
Dolf & Nancy Ryks
Don & Margaret Ste-Croix
Donna Fong
Donna Staszenski
Dorothy Constable
Earls restaurants
Elzabeth McAfee
Elphida Trio
Erica Bullwinkle
Michael Weinfeld
Ernst & Young
Gib Kostiuk
Hannah Dux
Hans Smits
Ian & Charlotte McLellan
Jane Green
Jane Leaper
Jeanette Hofman
Jeni X
Jesse Skwaruk
Jessica Reimann
Joe Hill
John & Avery Stobbe
K. Zaychuk
Karen & Kevin Peters
Karen Rowswell
Keith Krueger
Kevin Richards
Kevin & Sue Garnier
Lera Jacobs
Lian Chang
Lida Somchynsky
Linda Duncan
Margaret & Richard Plain
Mark Lawless
Matt Hoffart
McEwan's Esso Avitat
Melissa Baron
Mildred Thill
Neil LeGrandeur
Nicole & Michael Bownes
Pat Griffith
Patricia Hughes
Paul Simmonds
Phi Delta Theta
Pleasantview Physiotherapy
RGS (Pra) Personnel
Richard and Margaret Plain
Rocky Mountain Soap Company
Ron & Kelly Millham
Runway 29 Pub
Sarah Foster-Stubbs
Scott Wright
Selena Boyle
Shannon Collum
Sharon Riley
Sophie Lee
Steve Judge
Strathcona Community League
Tamara Sutherland
Teague McGinitie
Tegan Hurst
Tim Challen
TPI-Janus Travel
United Cycle
Valerie Phillps-Boyle & Stephen Boyle
Venta Kabzems

First off, welcome! And thanks for visiting, this is to be the first of many updates of our trip to Africa. Whether you're here just to make sure we're still alive, or wanting to see the first updates of pictures, thanks for supporting us!

Andrew and I are taking part in a 11,900km long trek from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa. We leave Cairo on January 10th, 2009 and finish (somewhat more tanned) 4 months later in Cape Town. We are taking this trip for various reasons. On one hand, although some may call us crazy, to us this is a vacation. On another level it is a journey to experience the vast world in which we live. Another motivation behind this trip was to fundraise. The Tour d'Afrique Cycling Company that we are going with is associated with a foundation; the Tour d'Afrique Foundation. The foundation purchases bicycles for healthcare workers in Africa. One of the major downfalls of African healthcare is not what you might suspect, a lack of medical professionals, but rather it is a lack of transportation. Getting the doctors and nurses to the people proves difficult in a world where even us "wealthy" North Americans can bearly afford fuel for our cars, not to mention the roads which range from packed sand, to old lava flows to some super brand new roads that would rival ours. Bicycles are the most reliable way in Africa! To date we have raised $7,272.97; so close to our goal of $8,000! None of this would have been possible without the generous support of all of our friends and family! A huge thank you to everyone who has already donated! Andrew and I will actually have the honour of being at two bike presentation ceremonies throughout the course of our trip, which is very exciting! If anyone is interested in making a donation, either contact Andrew or, I or visit http://www.tourdafrique.com/donate/index.html In the comments box simply put Andrew McLellan & Judy Garnier's Student Fundraising.

Right now we are madly packing, trying to get last minute visas (who knew that a Sudanese tourist visa would be so hard to get) and say our so longs to all of our friends. We leave Canada December 13 if all goes well. On our way to Africa is a pit stop in Southern India (don't worry its the safe part of India) for Andrew's brother Colin's wedding and a stop in Dubai and the way back across the globe to Africa. More to come...

Andrew & Judy