Solar Bike Crosses Sahara
Simon Milward has just completed the world's first crossing of the Western Sahara on a solar bike powered only by the electricity produced by an AKT Solar panel.
From Monday 22nd April to Wednesday 31 April, Simon Milward, rode the AKT Solar bike 1275 km from Guelmim in Southern Morocco across the Western Sahara to the Mauritanian border. The bike was powered directly and only by the sun via an AKT Solar panel powering an electric motor in the rear wheel. There was no other source of power such as pedalling, a petrol motor or batteries. His challenge was supported by AKT Solar and was raising money for the charity Oxfam.
Simon began his journey on Monday 22nd April, starting at Guelmim in Southern Morocco. Over the following nine days the solar bike powered him across the Sahara Desert to reach the Mauritanian border 1275 km away. The AKT Solar panel produced a total of 16,000 Wh of electricity during the trip "“ enough to light a rural home for over a year.
Simon Milward said, "Throughout it all the solar bike worked excellently. The only power moving me along came from the solar panel which fed electricity directly into the motor in the rear wheel. This propelled the bike far better than I had expected and it would reach speeds of up 30 kmph on the flat.
"This really shows the power of solar energy "“ even in one of the most remote places in the world, the solar panel produced a reliable source of electricity to transport me up to 170 km each day. When you think that 20% of the world's population "“ over 1.2 billion people "“ still don't have electricity for lighting, you realise that this kind of technology could make a massive difference to many many people's lives.
"In fact, in this case, the solar bike performed so well that I completed the challenge in just nine days, having expected it would take up to 15. Still, it wasn't that easy"¦ I don't yet have the full feeling back in two of my fingers after they went numb holding the throttle on the first day. And the wind, combined with the scouring sand made riding the bike quite difficult, and dangerous, particularly when the odd truck would pass me.
"Yet, apart from the physical effort and discomfort, the journey was an eye opening experience. What struck me about the Sahara Desert was not just its vast scale but the loneliness of the place. In the middle of the desert I could ride for over 100km without seeing any signs of human habitation and almost no signs of life.
"But there were oasis towns and at the largest one, close to the desert's northern border, I visited a technical college and met the students there. AKT Solar is now planning to continue the contact with them and develop some e-learning courses so they can find out more about solar power applications and spread the benefits of solar energy."
The money Simon raises is going to the charity OXFAM.
For more information visit www.aktfoundation.org
