In my previous post, I wrote hopefully third time lucky. Having said that, I don’t believe in luck. Which is a good thing, as that ended up not being the case after all. Once again, I’ve decided to come up with a new route. At the moment, Covid is making its presence known across Europe and restrictions are starting to make a return – particularly on inbound flights from other countries. The UK, for example, would require a Day 2 test, which is fair enough. However, isolation is required until a negative result comes back. Not something I could have budgeted for. Who knows what other restrictions I may have had to face by the time I get there. So, to avoid having to once again try to predict the future (remember, I don’t have a TARDIS or a DeLorean), I’ve decided upon another new route. I will still be cycling from the end of February to the end of May.
The new route will take me just under 6,000 km around New South Wales and Victoria. I feel confident doing a ride through these two states, now that they’ve both opened up. I will start and finish at the Sydney Opera House. On the second week, from the 6th to the 12th of March, I’ll be taking part in the 2022 edition of Pedal Cure 4 MND with about (currently) 50 other people. Even though I’ll have the benefit of support vehicles that week, it’s still going to be a hard slog – every day will be a 100+ kilometre day. I will still be cycling in areas that I’ve never been to before, and that’s always a good thing. That’s why I love travelling – to see new places! Am I disappointed that I won’t be cycling from Manchester to Rome? Definitely. But it’s the cause that matters, not the route.
Even though I’m cycling for fun, I’m also cycling for my favourite charity – FightMND. An Australian charity leading the fight against the evil Beast of a disease called MND – Motor Neurone Disease (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease). It is a progressive nervious system disease that attacks the neurones in your brain that allows you to move, breath, and so on. You become a prisoner in your own body, but your mind remains alert. There are no effective treatments and there is no cure. Life extectancy is typically around two years from diagnosis. It is a nasty disease. To donate, please go to:
https://hub.fightmnd.org.au/fundraise-for-fightmnd/cycle-against-the-beast-2022/ (https://donate.rtw.bike for short)
A QR code is also below. In the age of Covid, I think we’ve all become used to QR codes!
Want to know what happens with the money you donate? Check out the video below!
In regards to the credit note for my cancelled flights to Europe, I’ll book new flights for August next year. I’ll spend a few weeks travelling around the UK by train. For the unreformed train spotter, what else is there to do? 🙂