Mark’s Final Reflections
Riding a bike across the country is something that I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember. However, the idea has only been floated with those around me on a very occasional basis due to the less than enthusiatic support usually expressed by them. That all changed in January 2009 when my wife Anita and I were having dinner (and a few drinks) with her sister Kate and her husband Dan. During conversation I casually mentioned that I would be riding a bike across the country at some time during my life and Dan immediately said he was keen to do likewise and we hatched a plan to do it together at the end of 2009. There even seemed to be a level of support for the idea (or at least an absence of opposition) from our respective partners.
The next day I presumed that, with sobriety, sensibility would return and the matter would not be raised again. However, shortly thereafter I received an email from Dan setting out a possible schedule for the ride. Before I knew it we were “locked in” to doing the ride, tweaking the schedule and discussing approaches to training and other preparation etc etc.
Very early on my daughter Alyce learnt of our plans and “wanted in”, which we were happy to agree to. Alyce was, however, very worried about what her triathlon coach Ben would say, so for some time we just kept it as our little secret. As it turned out, when she did muster the courage to tell Ben he was very enthusiastic and he has been incredibly supportive along the way, designing a specific training plan for Alyce and offering her heaps of advice and encouragement. In fact the whole Tridents Triathlon Club has been incredible in its support for Alyce in particular and the whole pedals2perth effort in general and I couldn’t be happier that Alyce has found a “home” there where she is so comfortable. She does tease me a bit about the other “fathers” who look out for her at the club while I am away in the Northern Territory, but I am delighted that she has an ongoing association with people of such character and positive outlook who clearly care for her and also really enjoy her company.
At an early stage of our planning and thinking about the ride, Dan and Alyce each independently formed the view that we should add meaning to our ride by using it to raise awareness about male depression and also to raise funds to help in this area. We all agreed on this and settled on the Black Dog Institute as the organisation we would like to support through our fund raising efforts.
I have been living and working in a remote location in the Northern Territory for the past couple of years, where it is impractical to have a road bike. As such, almost all of my training for the ride across Australia was done on my mountain bike, riding on sandy and rocky roads and tracks around the area where I work. We agonised considerably over a period of time about whether we should do a supported or unsupported ride, and what would be the best bikes for our purposes. We ended up settling on a supported ride (thanks to our terrific support crews) using fairly standard road bikes. I had been given a new road bike (a Scott CR1 Pro) for my 50th birthday during the year, but had only been able to ride it a couple of times when on brief “reunion” visits back to Canberra. Having now ridden it across the country, I have fallen in love with it. It performed faultessly and was a delight to ride. Alyce (Scott CR1 Pro “Contessa”) and Dan (Avanti Giro) were also extremely happy with how their bikes performed.
The ride has been, without a doubt, one of the highlights of my life. Though I have previously travelled across the country in a car, doing it on a bike provided the opportunity to experience the journey and “feel” everything in a way which is just not possible sitting inside a vehicle in air conditioned comfort (although one “feeling” we would have all been happy to forego was the “saddle soreness”). We each saw things we had never seen (I never knew a hare could be so large – I thought it was a kangaroo at first) and experienced the warmth and friendliness of a vast array of different people (many only very briefly as they waved enthusistically as they passed in the other direction in their vehicles). Some particular highlights for me included riding across the Hay Plain, experiencing some magnificant sunrises, stopping at the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight, making our way along the Murray River and spending some nights at locations on its banks, and riding in and triumphing over some “extreme” conditions including high temperatures (45 degrees on one day), a severe, if brief, hail storm, and some strong winds (though, thankfully, these were not directly in our face too often).
It was also very special for me that I did all of this in close company with one of my daughters, sharing each experience along the way as we found out more about our country, ourselves and each other. Although the ride was being done in memory of Alyce’s ex boyfirend and Dan’s brother, who had both died well before their time, I had not personally experienced the devastation associated with losing a loved one in such tragic circumstances. I believe I may have gained at least some insight to this when Alyce crashed heavily onto the road right in front of me after we had ridden almost 200km on our second last day. When I ran back to check on her I was extremely worried to find her lying limp and unresponsive on the road. Thankfully, although she was knocked temporarily unconscious, she sustained no serious injuries. I have, however, reflected on the possibility of a different outcome, and this has reinforced for me the importance of appreciating what we have while we have it, and living life to its fullest, now, rather than at some time in the future.
Special acknowledgement must go to Dan. Without his involvement the idea to ride across the country would most likely have remained as a pipedream which may or may not have been realised at some time in the distant future. It must be acknowledged that Dan has not had an “athletic background” comparable with the backgounds Alyce and I have, but he accepted the challenge, achieved enormously along the way, and should be regarded as an incredible inspiration to others who have ever considered taking some action to improve their overall level of health and fitness.
Special thanks too to our support crews, Fran and Dugald for the first half through to Ceduna and Anita and Judy from Ceduna through to Perth. Putting up with us and meeting our needs and expectations was not an easy job. But they did magnificently and their efforts are very much appreciated.
Having had such a great time, I am a little sad that this adventure is now over. I wonder what will be next on the agenda?
