And they're off!

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The youth at the Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe (BGCLT) gave a proper send-off to two men who left South Lake Tahoe on motorcycles Wednesday for a 5,500-mile trip to Panama City.

Jorik Blom and Mark Kirby are originally from South Africa and have been friends for over 30 years. Mark currently works as a Transport Planner and heads up a regional office based out of Guildford, Surrey. He lives in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey with his wife, Siobhan, and sons Conor and Torin. Jorik has been in South Lake Tahoe for 14 years and works as a photographer and at California Burger.

Jorik and Mark are using their adventure to raise funds and awareness for BGCLT and White Lodge while traveling overland on Royal Enfield Motorcycles. They will be challenging themselves while experiencing cultures and sights, all while promoting others who do work in their communities, particularly those helping families and children in need.

Their mission and efforts recently raised $50,000 for the BGCLT community playground campaign, “Let the Kids Play!”. More funds will be raised for the new playground and White Lodge in the United Kingdom.

From Mark, ”On the 09th of June 2006 my son, Conor was born. He had an arduous entry to the world and the resultant complications with his birth have left him with severe brain damage, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and numerous other physical and developmental problems. Thanks to the fantastic work by the team at the White Lodge Centre in his early years, Conor is now a young man who has realized a quality of life that we never expected for him. They not only helped Conor with his early development, by they helped us as a family come to terms with the challenges that we face on a daily basis. The White Lodge Centre is a charitable organization, and they are reliant on the goodwill of others to meet their funding requirements annually."

Jorik's fiance and family were at the BGCLT to see him off on his journey. Once he and Mark make it to Panama City they'll be shipping the bike back to South Lake Tahoe.

The pair will make it to San Francisco Wednesday night, off to Santa Barbara on Thursday, then Los Angeles, Tijuana, down to the bottom of Baja California where they catch a ferry to mainland Mexico and on to Panama.

Neither of the men is a stranger to traveling long distances on motorcycles. Mark went from London to Cape Town (18,000 miles), and they toured 2,000 miles in Spain and Portugal.

People can follow their trip on their website https://www.enfieldsoverland.org/ and on social media. Donations can still be made to the BGCLT playground HERE, White Lodge HERE, as well as supporting the men on their journey HERE.