HongKong - After an epic journey through Europe and Asia Jon Lee and Micheil Gordon received a very warm welcome at their destination in Hong Kong. The two Environmental Science graduates and keen cyclists left Newbury (UK) 10-months-ago. 

One of their aims on their cycling tour was to raise awareness of global water issues. During their journey the young Brits collected €20,400 for the international NGO WaterAid. Wherever they had the opportunity on their journey Jon and Micheil talked and discussed with the local population and collected money. WaterAid’s mission is to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the world's poorest communities.
 
The initiative was made possible through the support and sponsoring of the German specialty chemicals company LANXESS, which has its UK headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire. By the start LANXESS made a donation of £10,000 to WaterAid. The company also sponsored the equipment of both cyclists.

With its innovative products LANXESS actively helps to solve the world's water problems. LANXESS has products to remove impurities from drinking water and make it palatable again. On top of that, seals for water pipes made from LANXESS special-purpose rubber make sure that not a single drop of the valuable resource is wasted on its way to the consumer. 

Warm welcome in Hong Kong

Together with members of the Hong Kong Cycle Alliance (HKCA) Jon and Micheil cycled the last lap from the Tsim Sha Tsui harbour to the Kowloon Cricket Club, where at the “finishing line” they were welcomed by friends, family, cycle-fans and LANXESS employees.

Jon Lee commented: “Having co-organised the Hong Kong Cycle project has been an incredible experience from the outset and even more important: we reached our original goal of £20,000 for WaterAid. The project kicked off with initial contact with WaterAid, planning the route to Hong Kong, organising many fundraising events, gaining sponsorship from LANXESS and preparing our equipment before the departure in early March.

“The trip itself has been mad. I have been lucky enough to meet such a huge number of incredible people from completely different backgrounds and experience ways of living far from what I have ever seen or even imagined before. Physically, the trip has at times been very demanding and I am now looking forward to arriving home and eating like never before. The backing we received from LANXESS was fantastic and in many ways changed the way the project ran, not only with the supply of our equipment and their generous donation to WaterAid, but with the on-going support we have received. This started with an excellent send off in Newbury, numerous fundraising events organised in Europe and Hong Kong as well as staying in regular contact. We cannot thank them enough for their support.”

Martin Krämer, Country Representative for LANXESS in China, congratulated the students on their achievements: "This is a very exceptional charity tour! We are proud and happy that we were able to support such an exciting and precious project. It matches our aim to preserve resources whenever possible. Already today, the supply of fresh drinking water is scarce in many countries. This is why we use our technological leadership skils as well as our expert knowledge to support those countries in supplying the population with drinking water and thus improve the quality of life in a sustainable way!"

Welcome home event in Newbury

The long journey brought Jon and Micheil from the UK to France, Belgium, German, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Rumania, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China till the end destination Hong Kong.

Jon and Micheil will be welcomed at the St. Nicolas School in Newbury on December 1st, where the journey started on March 2nd both cyclists will tell the pupils about their adventures along the road.

Reports and pictures of the journey can be found on the website http://hongkongcycle.co.uk. Already 62,000 visitors have logged on.