Cycle Against the Beast – 2022
16th March, 2022
I woke up not feeling any more confident than I did yesterday. Added to that, it was pouring down with rain. I waited as long as possible for the rain to stop, but it never did. So, I checked out, loaded up my bike and rode down to the station in the rain. I didn’t bother getting into my cycling clothes, as I was only going as far as the station – only a couple of kilometres. I stopped by a café for a bacon and egg roll and a mug of hot chocolate. I then made the rest of the way to the station. After buying a ticket to Melbourne, I left my bike there and got lunch at the nearby Red Rooster. Lunch done, it was time to head back to the station – only a few minutes walk. The train arrived and I loaded it on to the luggage van at the front of the train.
After arriving in Melbourne, I had to determine what to do with the bike. The bike shop I usually go to was not able to box up my bike at such short notice. So, I decided to make arrangements to leave it with a friend in the south eastern suburbs. As I was passing through Bourke Street Mall, I came across a newly arrived bicycle tourist from Scotland whose bike had broken. Since I didn’t know when I’d feel confident to ride my bike again, I gave him mine. I then went and had dinner at the Mail Exchange, just across from Southern Cross station. I then hopped on the bus back to Sydney.
As I write this on the morning of the 3rd of April, I have since felt a lot better. I’m at the point, now, where I want to get back out on the road. I have started planning again, including cycling from Philadelphia to St. Louis around May and/or June next year (2023). All I need now is a new bike. I will still be travelling to the UK during April and May, but not cycling. I will be travelling around by train and hopefully meeting up with a few local MND Assocations. I will be keeping my fundraising page active, hopefully being able to use it into next year.
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