This section offers an introduction into our Pan-American Adventure.  Click on the link to find...

  Who we are

  The purpose of our trip

  Some information on the charity, Cancer Research UK. 

  How to make a donation to Cancer Research UK.

We are Norman & Maggie Magowan... 

Norman - I am from Belfast, Northern Ireland, where I worked in the aerospace industry for 10 years before moving to Stevenage in England in 1989.  For the next 15 years I was gainfully employed in the UK Space industry.  I took a voluntary redundancy package, swapping my role as Quality Manager on a leading space programme to take up the challenge of our Pan American Adventure.

Maggie - I am a native of Holywood, County Down and have worked in jobs too numerous to mention, covering everything from dental nursing to accounts work.  I always wanted to travel and we have been fortunate that Norman’s job allowed us to work & reside in Munich, Holland & French Guyana. 

We met when we were 17.  There were 2 major influences on our early life together.  The first was inspiration from that book…’Jupiter’s Travels’ of course, read by just about everyone who ever travelled anywhere on a bike.  The second major influence came in 1981 when we set off, 2-up on a little single cylinder Kawasaki Z200, to undertake a 3,000 mile round trip from Belfast to the South of France.  It was our first adventure – leaving us well and truly bitten by the bug.  Since then motorcycles have taken us round most of Europe, across North Africa and coast to coast across the USA.

The Pan American has been a joint dream for a number of years, but events of the first 2 years of the 21^st century conspired to make it a reality. 

Norman

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.

There are over 600 Cancer charities in the UK and from these we selected Cancer Research UK as the charity to benefit from our Pan American Adventure. They are the largest independent cancer research charity in the world, having been formed in 2002 when the 2 charities, The Imperial Cancer Research Fund & The Cancer Research Campaign merged. They produce Nobel Prize winners in their research programmes and we believe they will maximise the use of any funds we raise.  In our preparation year for the trip we travelled with our bikes to a number of shows & events up & down the country to raise awareness & funds for Cancer Research.

1.      17th / 18th May 2003 BMF Rally - Peterborough

2.      24th May 2003 Knebworth Balloon Festival

3.      8th June 2003 Stevenage Day

4.      28th / 29th June 2003 Beaulieu World of Motorcycling

5.      5th & 6th July 2003 National Adventure Sports Show - Peterborough

6.      20th July 2003 Stevenage & District Motorcycle Club Vintage Bike Run

7.      15th August 2003 Bulldog Bash - Stratford

8.      21st September 2003 Rossendale Bike Show - Rawenstall Lancs.

We certainly chose the best summer to launch this campaign with stunning sunny weather almost everywhere we appeared. With the completion of the show / events phase we circulated sponsor sheets around family, friends and work colleagues.  

We would like to give our heartfelt thanks to all who supported us. 

BMF Rally

Bulldog Bash

Rossendale Bike Show
 

If visiting this website has inspired you, please make a difference by donating to our charity fund at:

http://www.justgiving.com/panamericanadventure

Alternatively you can donate directly to Cancer Research UK at:

www.cancerresearchuk.org/donate

 (Please reference Norman & Maggie Magowan's Pan-American Adventure).

Note: All of the money that we collect is donated to Cancer Research UK, where we requested that it is spent on research into curing and preventing cancer. None of it paid in any way for our trip, which was entirely self-funded.

Our Pan-American Adventure was but the latest in a long line of motorcycling trips around Europe, USA and North Africa.  Click on the photo opposite to see some details of our other travels...

Click Here ®