Mamola launches Riders for Health Experience Africa.

A new fundraising ride, Riders for Health Experience Africa, will be launched by the organisation's co-founder and 13 time 500cc race winner, Randy Mamola, at the International Motorcycle and Scooter Show today (Friday 27th).

Experience Africa is a unique motorcycle journey through Lesotho, a beautiful mountain kingdom in Southern Africa offering stunning scenery, endless trails and some of the world's most spectacular off-road motorcycling.

But it is not just a holiday. It is a chance to make a difference. Participants will be raising money to support the work of Riders for Health and will witness firsthand the organisation's inspiring humanitarian work.

Behind its breathtaking beauty, Lesotho has a tragic story. This small country has one of the highest rates of HIV anywhere in the world. The mountainous landscape means that many villages cannot be reached by four wheeled vehicles, and walking to a clinic can take many hours. That is why the work of Riders for Health is so vital. Without it many communities can receive no health care at all.

During the ride participants will see how Riders for Health is working with outreach health workers and using reliable motorcycles to reach even the most isolated villages with health care. Adventurers will also visit clinics, ride with health workers and spend time in communities, seeing how thousands of lives have been transformed by motor-cycles.

Mamola has just returned from Lesotho, after riding the Experience Africa route for the first time:

"I have just had the most incredible ten days riding in the wonderful country of Lesotho. It is amazing to see that the machine that gives us all so much pleasure - the motorcycle - is having such a huge impact on people's lives in Africa. The Riders for Health Experience Africa ride is sure to be a life changing experience," said the American.

There will only be a limited number of places on the first Riders for Health Experience Africa, which will take place during October 2010.

Details of the ride will be released soon. To make sure you are the first to know, email experienceafrica@riders.org to register your interest.

The total cost of the trip will be approximately ?5,000 of which approximately 40% will be used to further Riders for Health's work in Africa. The remaining funds will be used to cover the costs of the event.

Participants can raise the cost of the trip through sponsorship and Riders for Health will support them with all of their fundraising efforts.

In other Riders for Health news, the traditional Day of Champions fundraiser, held on the eve of the British Grand Prix, will continue at the event's new Silverstone home from 2010.