Hi!

My name is Dominic Spitzer-Wong.

I really, really love cycling.

But what I love even more is sharing that passion.

And now I am planning to share this passion with people of Morocco who don’t have access to cycling because of physical, cultural or financial barriers.

And as part of that plan I am inviting you to join me and be a valued part of a new cycling adventure, as I ride from Estepona in Spain to Pikala Bikes in Morocco, on a Van Raam Velo Plus wheelchair carrying tricycle.

Starting in early April 2026, I will ride the 420 miles, via Tangier, Rabat, Casablanca and finishing in Marrakech. While in Marrakech I will be attending the 4th Annual Pikala Bikes Open Street event to talk about the journey, my partnership with Pikala, and how all you wonderful people have helped us to start Marrakech’s first Disability Cycling sessions!

Why me? Why now?

Through my work I have been incredibly privileged to have shared some very personal and joyful milestones in people’s lives.

From teaching adults to ride a bicycle for the first time, instructing school children on how to cycle on roads safely, or leading inclusive cycling sessions for people with disabilities and injuries. I have spent the last 20 years using my experience and knowledge to help all kinds of people share the joys of cycling, and proving that anybody can enjoy the experience, with the right assistance.

Whether it was a Father watching their child with cerebral palsy cycling unsupported for the first time, a woman who 20 years after sustaining serious injuries in a cycling accident, returning to her love of cycling, or piloting visually impaired riders on a fixed gear tandem around the Olympic Velodrome track, I have helped play a part in a huge and lasting emotional impact.

So Why Pikala Bikes?

In 2022, while on holiday in Morocco, I was introduced to Pikala Bikes (pikalabikes.com).

Pikala run bicycle tours around Marrakech, so my partner and I eagerly booked ourselves onto a tour that took us to a village on the edge of the desert, just outside of the city.

What I didn't know was that tour was going to change my life.

Pikala's cycle tours help to fund their non profit arm that take road safety training into schools, offer women-only 'learn to cycle' lessons as well as running a vibrant and popular youth club.

Morocco has very high youth unemployment and Pikala are there supporting, training and employing young people, as tour guides, office and café staff, as well as mentoring young entrepreneurs in sustainable and Eco tourism.

I was so impressed by Pikala's social work that I’ve since returned to volunteer as a mechanic at their Marrakech workshop for two years running.

I am always overwhelmed by the generosity of the welcome and hospitality I receive and the many lasting friendships I have made.

I am incredibly proud to consider Marrakech my second home, and everyone at Pikala, my Moroccan family.

And this is why I want to help change other people’s lives!

In Marrakech there is little or nothing in the way of social and inclusive activities for local disabled people, or disabled tourists.

So that's why I came up with 'The Project'.

The Project.

With Pikala Bikes I aim to set up the first inclusive/disability cycling sessions in Marrakech, providing a safe, welcoming environment for people to socialise, exercise, network with others and have fun for a couple of hours every week.

And these sessions need not be exclusive to disabled clients.

Healthcare is incredibly lacking in Morocco and cycling offers people who have had strokes, suffer with dementia or are recovering from injury, simple and effective exercise.

In my experience many disabled people are able to ride bicycles, tricycles and tandems with the right support and adaptations, most of which can be easily sourced or fabricated. 

But what these sessions really need is the inclusion provided by a wheelchair carrying trike for those unable to cycle but who would also benefit from the experience of sharing an experience that so many of us take for granted.

Pikala’s Statement -

“We are delighted to express our support for your

initiative to promote inclusive cycling for people with disabilities

through the upcoming symbolic trip from Tangier to Marrakech.

We fully endorse your mission to raise awareness, foster accessibility,

and create meaningful opportunities for individuals with disabilities to

engage in cycling and community activities.

Pikala is confident that this initiative will inspire positive social impact, strengthen

inclusive mobility, and complement our shared goal of empowering youth

and communities through cycling.

We are proud to stand alongside you in this effort and wish you every

success in your journey.”

Why a wheelchair carrying trike and why a Van Raam Velo Plus?

Besides being strong, reliable and serviceable, the Velo Plus is a versatile trike that I have used to great advantage in the past. The most important benefit of the Velo Plus is that a wheelchair user doesn’t risk any pain or discomfort from having to transfer from their chair, as they would if they were for example, getting in and out of a car.

In addition to being used at the sessions, a trike would be available to hire for local people as an alternative transport option and also for wheelchair using tourists.

A Velo Plus would give greater access to rides around the city from a position that wouldn't otherwise be available, it would make Pikala tours more inclusive and help to generate funds that can feed back into running repairs and the inclusive cycling sessions.

The Big Question, How much money do I need to raise?

To make this project a reality we need £7,000.00

That could be three thousand people giving £2.50, which in the grand scheme of things is less than the price of a beer or a cup of coffee.

It could be five hundred people giving £15, which is less than a monthly Netflix subscription.

It could be two hundred and fifty people giving £30, which is less than the price of one home delivery take away meal.

And in the interest of contrast, it even could be twenty four people giving £300, which is around the price of an entry level Decathlon Mountain bike.

In reality any donation is a generous and positive action that will go a lot further than 420 miles, and for a life improving project.

The price of a Van Raam Velo Plus is £6,975.00, including 21% VAT and delivery.

Yes, it’s expensive, but the cost is well worth it for a strong, serviceable and reliable cycle that will last for years.

And obviously, it is a very specialist machine for a very special task.

The Ride

The ride from Spain to Marrakech is an additional way to save costs and promote the partnership. By buying the Velo Plus through Van Raam’s Spanish distributor Procargo (procargo.es), we avoid the extra import taxes and delivery costs of having the trike shipped directly to Morocco.

It also makes this project a lot more fun and exciting.

Ricardo Gonzalez of Procargo believes this journey might be the furthest anyone has ridden a Velo Plus. This could possibly be a world’s first?

The journey and the trike will be covered by Yellow Jersey Insurance (yellowjersey.co.uk) who have offered us a generous discount.

So now all we need is to secure funds to buy the trike!

However much you donate, you will not only be buying into my journey but also an opportunity for Moroccan wheelchair users to experience their own cycling journeys.

You will be able to enjoy my adventure from the comfort of, well, wherever you’re most comfortable, and follow me on social media while I do all the hard work, pedalling mile by mile, from the south of Spain and through Morocco.

You will also get to join me as I stop to promote the partnership, and share our ideas with disability charities and social enterprises along the way.

Don’t forget I will be making this journey on a very unconventional cycle compared to all those other travel bloggers.

It needs to be said that if this crowdfunding should go over it’s target, then every extra pound will go directly towards buying other adaptations and cycles for the Pikala Disability Cycling Sessions.

Should we fall short of the target (Highly unlikely BTW), I will research an alternative cycle or adaptations for the Pikala Cycling Sessions, but I will still make the journey on my own bike to promote the partnership and share the trip on social media!

Whatever happens I am doing this ride, but with your support we can share even more cycling joy with communities in Morocco.

Thanking you in advance,

Dominic Spitzer-Wong

Enduring thanks go to -

Ricardo Gonzalez at procargo.es in Cadiz, for putting up with my constant questions.

Grant Georgiades at yellowjersey.co.uk.

Andrew and Julie at Villa Don Pedro, Estepona, Spain.

Trevor Horsewood for boundless patience, friendship, understanding and crash coaching me in making funding proposals.

Mounir Khamali and Cantal Bakker at pikalabikes.com, for taking on board my ideas and helping to bring this project to life.

Marcus Chandler and BERYL (my employers), for the annual volunteer leave that has helped to extend my visits to the Pikala Workshop.

And last and by no means least Grace Spitzer-Wong, who dragged me to Morocco in the first place.