Ride of a lifetime for former RAF engineer

Dominic Farewell-Cooke, 29, is raising money for Aid for Japan which provides support for children orphaned by the Great East Japan Earthquake

and subsequent tsunami.

Around 350 Japanese children lost both their parents and a further 1,500 children lost one of their parents in this disaster.

The 29-year-old, who was born in Shoreham but grew up in King Edward Avenue, Worthing, where his parents still live, estimates that the trip will take around three months.

He said: “I have wanted to do a big journey for a while and when the earthquake and tsunami hot I really wanted to help out.

“When I was made redundant from my job at RAF Northfold in March it seemed like the perfect opportunity.”

Dominic will leave London on May 3 and ride his Yamaha XT600 through France, Luxembourg, Germany, Czech Rep, Austria, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia before finally reaching Japan.

“There are a couple of questionable places along the way and I am not sure how certain things will turn out but that is all part of it,” he said.

“I will be travelling on my own and there are so many variables so I am excited and nervous all at the same time.

“My parents reaction when I first told them what I was doing was silence, they did not know what to say and a lot of my friends think that I am mad.”

Dominic has had to strip down and rebuild his bike prior to the challenge.

He said: “I need to make sure it is absolutely fixed. Every component has needed work which was not what I was hoping for and has been hard.

“But I am doing this because I believe that everyone deserves a childhood so I wanted to help when I realised just how many orphans there would be as a result of these disasters.

“This is something I have to do although I have never done anything like this. I have been to Japan several times and love the place and feel more at home there than anywhere in the UK.”

You can follow Dom’s journey at www.littledom.co.uk