In August, Miles and Benedict Noel are taking 4 weeks to cycle around Iceland for adventure and to raise money for the charity CREA (Conservation through Research, Education and Action). Our goal is to raise enough money to purchase at least 100 acres of the Cocobolo rainforest (3900 USD) in Panama. Prior to the cycling trip we will be spending 3 months exploring Central America firsthand.  

Iceland is an island located between the United Kingdom and Greenland and with a population of just over 300,000 people. There is one main road which runs around the coast of the island called the ring road, which is approximately 1500km in circumference. We will be cycling on this road anti-clockwise and staying in camp grounds and off-road where there are no facilities.  We will have limited equipment for a month as all our gear has to fit onto our bikes. My bike is a custom built foldable "pocket llama", purchased from bikefriday.com. If you are interested in the bikes and mention my name you will receive a discount or free equipment. Miles will purchase his bike in New York, a week before we depart for Iceland.  

CREA (http://www.crea-panama.org/) are a nonprofit organization working towards conserving biodiverse tropical rainforests in Panama. They manage the Cocobolo rainforest (http://www.cocobolonaturereserve.org/) by preventing poor use of the land through actions such as burning, and hunting, while educating the local communities to use the land in an efficient and environmentally sensitive way. Unfortunately donations made in Australia are not tax deductable, but we believe the cause is very worthwhile, as CREA are providing a solution through education rather than a band aid to the problem. If you are in the UK and wish to donate, you can give gift aid (adds an extra 28% to your donation) or claim the tax back. Please visit http://www.mycharitypage.com/themules/ if you live in the UK and wish to donate.  If you live in Australia and wish to donate, please check out http://www.mycause.com.au/Fuel_the_Mules_in_Iceland.

Thanks for taking the time to read. When we get time on our trip we will be blogging the progress of our journey at http://fuelthemules.blogspot.com. So in the month of August, while you're next to the heater with a warm bowl of soup, spare a thought for the mules in 24 hour daylight subsisting off oats and the local delicacy, putrefied shark meat.  

Thanks,
Benedict & Miles Noel