South America, here we come. Video release.

It's now 2 weeks till we take off and head to Quito in Ecuador to start the next installment of 'Tales from the Saddle'. A South American journey of over 11,000kms to the end of the earth.  Although Quito is situated at an altitude of over 2800 metres, we have 3 days to acclimatise before we commence our riding on the 1st August 2014.

My bike is ready to go thanks to the support of 'Spearman Cycles' in Wollongong and I would also like to thank Matt DeMoss of Garmin Australia.  I recently purchased the Garmin 1000 and couldn't be happier with the product.

I would also like to thank Kieran McLeod for his work on the video and all his help and ideas on filming.

The entire trip will be filmed on 'GoPro' and short segments will be posted throughout the trip.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Video release of South American adventure 14th July 2014.

On Monday 14th July 2014 I'll be releasing the video of the up and coming tour of South America.

During the trip I'll be posting video on the site of what we have been getting up too.

Stay tuned and until tomorrow, safe riding.

The greatest gift is to give to others. Thank you Daniel Stone.

Over the past couple of weeks I've been trying to collect some good cycling jerseys from my friends in my home town of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. The reason for collecting the jerseys was because in 2011 when I was competing in the Cairo to Capetown bicycle tour, I met an amazing man named Brian Sianyeuka. Brian lives in Lusaka, Zambia, and is a very keen cyclists.  I sent Brian an Illawarra Cycle Club jersey when I came back from Africa and he wears the jersey with pride. From travelling to Africa in the past I know how hard it is to get reasonably priced cycling jerseys, so I though I should do something nice.

After harassing my friends I got over 20 jerseys.

I would like to thank Luke Walshe, Graham Rutter, Tim Manton, Barry Buckley and me, for donating some fantastic clothing and to Daniel Stone for delivering them to Brian at Lusaka airport earlier today. The photo below is of Brian wearing the Illawarra Cycle Club jersey that was donated by Frank Soto of Soto Consulting Engineers.

Daniel is a heading to a game park for a couple of weeks and then going to meet up with my son Josh for a medical placement in Johannesburg in the coming weeks.  Without Daniel's help the cost of sending the clothing would have been over the top.

I look forward to posting some more photos of the Zambian riders wearing the donated gear.

Once again, until the 28th July 2014, safe riding.

GARMIN 1000. Guaranteed not to get me lost.

I received my new Garmin 1000 this week and am very grateful for the experts at Garmin Australia for this product.  A big thank you goes to the new boss of Garmin Australia for such a fantastic product that will help me on the ride to the end of the world.

4 weeks till lift off.

Until the 28th July 2014, safe riding.

A LIFE SENTENCE, the moral of the story is.

Every now and then  I get the chance to meet some amazing people.  This time it happened just about in my own back yard.  This is a poem written by Mr Ralph Scrivens on the 22 January 2013.  The poem relates to an incident in the 1970's he attended whilst performing his duty as a young police officer in New South Wales Police Force.

Although my blog usually relates to cycling only, I've decided to add stories of interest from now on.

The poems goes like this;

They were a just a young couple, doing their best to make ends meet,
Had two little boys aged nine and seven, their little family was now complete,
Wallerawang was where they lived, a coal mining town out west,
Good, honest, hardworking folk, their love would soon be put to the test.

I was a Constable in that quiet little town, raising a family of my own,
On duty one Saturday afternoon, when the call came through on the phone,
It was the call that all Policemen dread, "There's been an accident, come down now!"
That's all you're told, you don't know what to expect, and hope that you'll cope somehow.

You see, Mum and Dad had a small business, dispensing soft drinks around the town,
They had rented a shed with a big back yard, a truck and a fork lift, both a bit run down,
This fateful day, so much to do, they were getting further behind,
The boys had come down to help them out, they lightened the load that was becoming a grind.

Mum was driving the forklift that bright afternoon, picking up pallets and stacking them high,
Out to the yard then back in the shed, it all happened so quick, in the blink of an eye,
You see when the fork lift was empty, boys being boys would hitch a ride,
On the front forks, it seemed such a thrill, but fate lent a hand, a young life was denied.

A small bump in the road, the boy lost his grip, a moment in time that she'll never forget,
To outlive a child is a terrible thought, her actions that day she would live to regret,
I attended the scene, what I saw that day, his small lifeless body lying there in the dust,
An image so real like time had stood still, what action to take, my moral to trust.

The look of sheer horror on that mother's face, awakened my conscience, I knew then and there,
This was no time for rules and by-laws, but a sense of what's right and a sense of what's fair,
I saw no malice in her actions that day, so in my report and presenting evidence,
I was not the judge and jury, she had given herself a life sentence.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

The next chapter.

The next installment of 'Tales from the Saddle' commences on the 28 July 2014.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Post Tour update. Another 'Tales from the Saddle' will be back on the 28 July 2014.

It's nearly 3 months since I've got home from my tour of Eastern Europe with Peter and Len.  During this tour I got the chance to meet some amazing people, visited some incredible places and not surprisingly got taught a few lessons in life from my riding partners.

I put a couple of photos together of some of the more memorable moments on tour.

The photo above is of myself & Peter my cycling buddy for the entire 4 months.  I must say we had an incredible time. Very patient and caring, but terrible joke teller.  I've strongly advised Peter not to enter the next installment of 'Australia's got talent'.

The 2 guys in the photo above are of Peter and Len.  Regardless of our differences I did enjoy Len's company for the last 3 weeks of the tour.  There is one thing I can say about Len, if you needed something in life he would be there to assist.  Very generous heart.

Then there was Maurice and Mary from Brisbane.  They helped us during the first 3 weeks of the tour and we did have many laughs with both of them. They played a big part in making our holiday a fantastic experience.

Now there were the relatives from northern Italy. From left to right.  Myself, Betilla, Graziella, Tony & Giancarlo.  They took the title of the most hospitable people of the entire tour.

The family above owned a small bicycle shop and the local school in a small town in Bulgaria.  We arrived late in town and couldn't find one hotel to stay at, so I went to the bicycle shop to ask for help and they then allowed us to stay in one of the classrooms overnight. Best free accommodation on tour.

Now Peter is a big promoter of the mighty Wollongong, and during one of our encounters at a local market in Bulgaria, Peter found a group of kids to share his knowledge about our town. It's a shame he gave away all his stickers in one day.

Every campsite we stayed at we always hoisted the Australian flag. That's probably why no one came near us.

During the trip we climbed some serious mountains that in some cases took hours to climb in some pretty intense heat. My favourite was the climb out of Kotor in Montenegro.  A climb of 1700 metres in 21kms. That was a tough morning on the bike.

And finally perhaps the best moment on tour is hoisting the Australian flag for the last time.  Arriving back in Istanbul after riding 5800kms was just one big adrenalin rush.  We made it in one piece, overcome sickness, huge mountains, met some amazing people, and it was a walk in the park.

Stay tuned for the next installment which commences on Monday 28th July 2014.  Now this trip is one hell of a challenge.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.