I was sitting in the Bursar's waiting room at Radley College in Oxford reading The Radleian. I am fascinated by the obituaries of former students many of whom have made an outstanding contribution to the world and often within our armed forces. Generally living to a ripe old age, their stories provide an inspirational example to society.

On this occasion, "the story was of a young officer, a former old boy who had paid the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan." I was deeply moved by this obituary and, of course, the situation continues with more of our young being maimed and injured in the country.

Some months later, I attended the annual motorcycle show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. Collecting and riding Italian motorcycles has been a life-long passion and this is an annual pilgrimage for me and my father. Our trip usually involves a great deal of trying, debating the virtues of the latest engineering and a fair bit of dreaming! As we were en route from the Ducati Stand to the MV Augusta Stand (both examples of brilliant Italian engineering), "we met Darren, a retired member of our Armed Services, who is operating Route 66 tours with the purpose of raising funds to support our service men and women." Darren was seeking to persuade my father that a six day tour of America covering 1,600 odd miles on a Harley was an excellent idea, and I found myself smartly conscripted to the tour! That was a year ago and, thanks to the support of my fellow directors and colleagues at MYA, the tour was made possible and I have just returned.

" This album shows some of the highlights of the tour. I have tried to capture the incredible natural beauty of this country, its creative imagination, and the iconic sense of humour found within Route 66 communities - complete with quirky features and welcoming, but quite random, diners!"

For a "petrol head", Route 66 is a dream. The journey was littered with American cars from the 50s and 60s, endless examples of Harley Davidson motorcycles (recently voted one of the top ten global brands), gorgeous trucks and very sociable truckers!

My rented bike for the trip was a Harley Davidson Road King, a real departure from my ITI collection. Contrary to reputation, this big 1600cc motorcycle handled surprisingly well and was the perfect horse for the task. " The trip encompassed many miles of extremely hot desert riding; it is incredible to think how our service men and women work in such extreme conditions." Needless to say I was wilting long before the Harley required re-fuelling!

Memorable sights must include watching the sunset over the Grand Canyon, the extraordinary natural phenomenon that is the Painted Desert and the Hoover Dam. Built to help lift Americans out of the Depression, it is an amazing feat of engineering and determination.

When we finally reached Los Angeles and the Santa Monica Pier (end of Route 66), the feel of a 'hippy carnival' was too much to resist as were the delicious (American sized) banana splits.

We spent a final day in San Diego which has a rich military history and also houses that bar from the 'piano scene' in the film 'Top Gun'. The final photograph is of that iconic statue, the kiss celebrating in part the end of World War II.

We hope to raise over £3,000 for British Military Charities and thank very much all of our sponsors and visitors to our stand!