Cycling has always been a big part of my life beginning with a solo Tasmanian bike tour for 4 weeks back in 1976 when I was 16 years old and culminating in an 18 month solo tour through South East Asia in 1985. Since then, I have progressively gone for shorter, sharper tours to countries and places of peak interest.
Bike touring is a truly great way to travel for so many reasons, not least because it immerses you in the environment through which you are traveling. I never want to think I am too old to get back on my bike and travel through new country.
While living and working in Thailand through the 90's, I joined a mountain bike group in Mae Sot and began cross-country racing. I loved it too and enjoyed the tough training to get race ready and the camaraderie of being part of a close group of cyclists.
Once I completed my P.H.D. and moved to Darwin, N.T., I took up road racing with the Darwin Cycling Club which opened up an entirely new avenue with high performance road bikes and the mental agility needed to perform well during a race.
Following a catastrophic road incident in 2009, my racing days are now over, but not my touring. So once again I have returned to my first love of traveling country at a (much) slower pace.
