In 2000, Andrew Stretton was diagnosed with a very rare Chronic Bone Marrow Disorder called Essential Thrombocythemia. ‘ET’ affects approximately only 1 in 120,000 people, making it extremely rare. Being a disorder only recently discovered (in the past 20 years) its cause remains a mystery. The disorder causes the Bone Marrow to overproduce Platelets, cells that play a pivotal role in helping blood to clot. As a benign form of cancer, its major downside is the ability to cause a stroke or heart attack from internal clotting. In order to limit the production of Platelets, Andrew takes daily Chemotherapeutic tablets, which, due to their cytotoxic nature, have the ability to cause secondary Leukaemia. Whilst ET’s cause is unknown, it has a high prevalence in Motor Mechanics who have had long-term exposure to ‘Benzine’, a parts washing solvent, which is also a Carcinogen. Andrew initially started out as a Mechanic after leaving School in 1978, using Benzine regularly to wash Truck and Tractor parts during his Apprenticeship. Later in his career, as Sales & Marketing Director for an Australian Blood Bag Manufacturer, Andrew came across another disturbing Carcinogen, DEHP. Some blood bag manufacturers were using DEHP or DI-Ethyl-Hexyl-Pthalate as a plasticizer, helping the plastic blood bags to remain supple. It was discovered that this plasticizer, the same used to keep car dashboards soft, (it causes the white film on car windscreens), leached out of the plastic and into the blood where it surrounded Red Blood Cells and stopped them from rupturing. This ‘positive’ benefit helped to prolong the storage of Red Blood Cells meaning blood was more readily available for transfusions. DEHP is a known Carcinogen, however, whilst the Medical Community were aware of the leaching, they never discovered what happened to the DEHP after it was transfused, with the blood, into the body. As time has gone by, through his own illness and other experiences, such as his awareness of DEHP and Depleted Uranium, Andrew has become more and more convinced that much of what we are exposed to in our ‘modern day lifestyle’s’, has a major link to the increasing Cancer diagnosis rates. To build awareness of this and Men’s Cancer in general, Andrew set out on the 3rd of February 2008 on a four State Bicycle ride, covering 7,000km’s over 26 weeks. He is talking in communities across the country about Men, Work, & Cancer & discussing ways in which we can begin changing our lives for the better.
7,000 Kilometers On A Pushbike
'For Blokes Sake'!
First Leg - Central Victoria to Sydney, 1,337 kilometers
Statistics
Detailed statistics covering Km's / day, Hours on Bike, Average Speed, Maximum Speed and Calories of Energy Expended have been recorded from March 5th. Please see further below.
Sunday 3rd of Feb: Dunach to Dunolly - 45 Kilometers
Monday 4th of Feb: Dunolly to Avoca - 37 Kilometers
Thursday 7th of Feb: Avoca to Ballarat - 73 Kilometers
Friday 8th of Feb: Ballarat to Dunach - 50 Kilometers
Tuesday 12th of Feb: Dunach to Newstead - 43 Km's
Wednesday 13th of Feb: Newstead to Castlemaine - 16 Km's
Friday 15th of Feb: Castlemaine to Daylesford - 40 Km's
Saturday 16th of Feb: Daylesford to Macedon - 49 Km's
Sunday 17th of Feb: Macedon to Melbourne - 60 Km's
Sunday 2 of March: Essendon to Southern Cross & Trafalgar to Mirboo North - 50Km's
Monday 3rd of Mar: Mirboo North to Matt & Tony's - 9km's
Wednesday 5th of Mar: Mirboo North to Heyfield - 103Km's, 7 Hours on Bike, Avg Speed 14.7 Km/h
Thursday 6th of Mar: Heyfield to Bairnsdale - 82 Km's, 3Hrs 51min on Bike, Avg Spd 21.2 Km/h, Max Speed 47.2 Km/h
Friday 7th of Mar: Bairnsdale to Lakes Entrance - 36 Km's, 1Hr 54min on Bike, Avg Spd 19km/h
Saturday 8th of Mar: Lakes Entrance to Orbost - 59Km's, 3Hrs 33min on Bike, Avg Spd 16.6Km/h, Max Spd 42, 763 Calories
Monday 10th of Mar: Orbost to Cann River - 76.6Km's, 4Hrs 34min on Bike, Avg Spd 16.6Km/h, Max Spd 45.5, 1114 Cal
Tuesday 11th of Mar: Cann River to Mallacoota - 71Km's, 4Hrs 3min on Bike, Avg Spd 17.3Km/h, Max Spd 41, 971 Cal
Thursday 13th of Mar: Genoa to Eden - 64.2Km's, 3Hrs 52min on Bike, Avg Spd 16.5Km/h, Max Spd 46, 888 Cal
Friday 14th of Mar: Eden to Bega - 61.2Km's, 3Hrs 54min on Bike, Avg Spd 15.6Km/h, Max Spd 46.7, 839 Cal
Sunday 16th of Mar: Bega to Narooma - 75Km's, 4Hrs 37min on Bike, Avg Spd 16.1Km/h, Max Spd 49.4, 1152 Cal
Monday 17th of Mar: Narooma to Batemans Bay - 75Km's, 4Hrs 35min on Bike, Avg Spd 16.1Km/h, Max Spd 47.9, 1051 Cal
Tuesday 18th of Mar: Batemans Bay to Milton - 60Km's, 3Hrs 31min on Bike, Avg Spd 16.8Km/h, Max Spd 45.5, 843 Cal
Wednesday 19th of Mar: Milton to Bomaderry - 66.4Km's, 3Hrs 36min on Bike, Avg Spd 18.4Km/h, Max Spd 54.6, 1132 Cal
Sunday 23rd of Mar: Ousley Hill to Picton - 36Km's, 1Hr 35min on Bike, Avg Spd 22.3Km/h, Max Spd 44.2, 621 Cal
Total Km's - 1,337.4
Total Days on Bike - 24
Average Km's Per Day - 55.7
Second Leg - Sydney to Brisbane
Third Leg - Brisbane to Gladstone
Early morning (7.00am) just outside Orbost. Smoke from burning off continues to fill the air and makes riding and visibility extremely difficult. It was necessary to ride with a mask on in order to breathe. Whilst camping in the tent during the night I was woken by 2 CFA Siren alarms. Somebody had decided to create extra work for the CFA by setting alight to an old hollow tree just outside the township. The ride the day before was more eventful than the night however, with a chain failure, a front pannier dropping off at about 45km/h and a puncture (the very first) less than 200 meters out of Orbost. So much for those Kevlar Tyres! Not many donations during this section of the tour but lots of people asking, 'am I insane?'
The view from Matt & Tony's place in Mirboo North. This is a simply stunning property that is a credit to them both (Thanks guy's for your wonderful hospitality!) The ride here was a 'baptism of fire', out of Trafalgar the road climbed to 341 meters in just under 3.5 Kilometers. (That's 1 meter up for every 10 forward). Along the way, an accident between a motorcycle and a car with air (helicopter) ambulance in attendance, something that really brings home your vulnerability on a push bike. The concert in the park arranged by Matt resulted in more donations (Thank you Mirboo North!) From here the tour headed to Churchill, Traralgon, Glengarry, Heyfield (105Km day on the bike with a headwind, heat and smoke from a CFA burn off ), then to Stratford, Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, Nowa Nowa & Orbost.
The Unconventional Cellist performing in the Rotunda in the Park at Newstead in Central Victoria. Part proceeds from CD sales at select performances are being donated to 'For Blokes Sake' (Thanks Kris!!) Approximately 55 people gathered for the night and generously donated to the cause. Amazingly, two newspaper reporters just happened to be in the audience, which led to some great media exposure. From here the tour headed toward Castelmaine, Daylesford, Woodend (many thanks for the very generous donations made by the Skilled Engineering sponsored push bike riders, raising money for MS by riding to Perth; thanks guys you are an inspiration!!), Macedon and finally to Melbourne for a 2 week break before heading off to Cairns.
Stopped for lunch at Bellbird Creek between Orbost & Cann River and was joined by this visitor. He'd decided that the nectar in the flowers left by a tree to mark the passing of yet another car crash victim, was just too good to bypass. Riding a pushbike is an eye opening experience, not just the natural wonders but also the cold reality of the madness on our roads. There are literally hundreds of these markers and you simply don't see them all when you pass in a car. Pity, the speed and the manouvres that cars, cars and caravans, cars and boats and trucks have been doing whilst passing me, especially during holiday times, has frequently scared the hell out of me. Getting off the road has become a regular avoidance tactic.
The beauty of the tiny Ulladulla bay. Ulladulla is becoming an urban sprawl, 10 plus km's long which it why its referred to as 'Milton-Ulladulla'. Staying at the almost deserted Milton Caravan Park, we were woken out of the tent at 5.00am the next morning by strong winds and a rather thunderous looking sky. Getting soaked at that time of the morning is something no one looks forward to (unless it is in a shower), so everything was packed up and we took shelter under a BBQ hut until 7.00am. I decided to offload some kilograms into Kris's trailer as the weight on the pushbike was proving extremely difficult to carry through the mountanous terrain. This made the climb through the 'Twelve Mile' mountain range a little easier and I had the biggest smile on my face when I hit the plains on the other side!
The beginning of the hills north of Cobargo. If you look carefully you can see in the centre of the picture at the break in the trees, the very faint outline of the land way below. The ease at which cars and trucks traverse this terrain brings home just how far removed we have become from nature's realities. Covering it on a pushbike, on a sealed surface is tough enough but nothing like it would have been for those who did it on foot a couple of hundred years ago. All along this coast line the thickness of the bush in places is unbelievable, indeed, in parts it looks simply impenetrable. Add this to the number of dead snakes lining the roadside, squashed by car's, the occupants of which rarely having knowledge of their deeds, and you begin to truely understand what it would have taken to trudge through this land in years gone by or even moreso, what it would have been like to have survived in it for more than 40,000 years.
7.19am, 9km's out of Bega, 3km's of which were up a very steep hill. At the top however was this stunning scene which later in the day would have provided a clear view of the Bega valley. You can see the other surrounding mountain range in the distance. The mist was incredibly dense. Being above the clouds at this time of the morning was a beautiful experience and when the sun started to really hit, the warmth was simply amazing. The ride started to flatten out from here until Cobargo where the second round of 'roller coaster hills', high temperatures and headwinds, similar conditions to those north of Eden, started to hit. I didn't know it at the time but the section from Kiah to Nowra, approx. 330km's, would result through physical tiredness, in the premature end of the Melbourne - Sydney Leg, at the railway station in Bomaderry, some 100km's from my planned destination.
Anybody for a Powernap? A rest area just after the 'Bowerbird' hill near Eden. I would have loved to have taken a photo of the hill but the mist was too dense. This photo gives a whole new meaning to the Road Safety Message - "A 15 Minute Powernap Could Save Your Life" - Oh really? With very few towns between Genoa and Eden, there have been limited opportunites to talk with people about 'For Blokes Sake'. Eden was a quick one night stop before heading off to Bega, a very tough ride on a very hot day. The people of Bega were very friendly and incredibly supportive (thanks Robert, Pol, Tony). With the amount of interest being shown, the Web Site needs to get up and running as soon as possible. We also need some small reminder cards made up to direct people to the site.
At the time, 31.7 Km/h! The NSW Border but the beginning of the hardest section of the tour to date. The mist you can see in the background of these photo's was a regular early to mid morning occurence from Mallacoota through to Bega. Because it is low cloud, it contains a lot of water which makes riding pretty wet! The upside? It also keeps you incredibly cool, especially on the long steep uphills. Just north of here, near Wonboyn, I passed a group of 6 pushbike riders ravelling in the opposite direction, 3 of whom were walking up a hill, and they were in their mid 20's! Seeing this, I was determined that I wouldn't walk no matter what. Famous last words! To date (I am now in Sydney), I have only walked one hill, that of the 'bowerbird' just outside Eden. But then again, cars & trucks were really struggling to get up it too!
The Unconventional Cellist performing with a great bunch of local muso's at Cafe 54 in Mallacoota. (Thanks guys for a fantastic night!) These guys were sensational, doing both Brent's (lead singer) own compositions (including the deeply moving 'This Earth is the Only One Wev'e Got') and a great selection of covers including many a brilliant rendition of Van Morrison song's. The place was quite literally jumping by the end of the night. If you visit Mallacoota, make sure you do the band night on Wednesday's! Thanks also to Lisa, Colin, Riley & Rowan for their very generous hospitality and organisation, to Michael (the local Community Radio Monday Breakfast Announcer) for showing us the sights and promoting the tour, and all those who donated so generously to the cause. Mallacoota your'e sensational!
Gareth, Caroline and Kids 23 Kilometers outside Mallacoota. These guys are from 'Old North Wales' (read U.K.) and are touring Oz with a view to a more permanent arrangement. Having been in the same camp ground the night before in Cann River, they were amazed at the 50 Kilometers I had already got under my belt by the time we bumped into each other at about 11.00am the next morning in Genoa. They passed me along the way and I probably would never had got to know them if the kids hadn't been asking 'are we there yet?' For anybody that's travelled with small kids, those roadside parks are an absolute blessing! My sincere thanks Gareth and Caroline for your donation, it was great to meet you and I hope all goes well with your future plans.
On the way down. You can't see the view too well but the scenery up here is simply too beautiful to describe. The road twists and turns down the side of the Mountain Range and at this time of the morning, around 9.30, the traffic is still relatively quiet. I couldn't help but stop several times on the way down so that I could keep on experiencing the birds, the wind, the trees and the view; it was all just so incredibly peaceful. The road eventually flattens out and with a moderate tailwind on the plains, I was frequently able to cruise along at 25 - 35km/h. From here the tour headed for Genoa and then a turn-off the main highway for Mallacoota, a 23km side trip to one of the most picturesque little towns in Victoria. Looking forward to a rest day also!
Mt Drummer, 361 meters above sea level, the peak of a 9 Kilometer ascent before yes!, yes!, yes!, a steep 11 Kilometer descent. Who said that life isn't fair? On the descent the logging trucks disappeared, perhaps too steep and too windy? No, at present this small higher ground area remains under National Park protection. The trucks run either side of it to Timber Mills in Cann River in Victoria and Wonboyn in Southern NSW, this whole vast region of Native Forest is under constant attack. The logging trucks are on a fast turn-around time, so nothing on the road stands in their way. Luckily, they make so much noise that its easy to tell when ones coming and to take evasive action by getting well off the road! (Where you can!)
The concert in Cann River was a great success with a large turnout for such a small township! Thanks Cann River for your donations and your stories about the men with cancer that have touched your lives. This photo was taken heading out of Cann River towards Mt Drummer. You can't see the view through the trees too well in this shot but I can tell you it was spectacular. This was taken about 280 meters above sea level. Large areas of these forests are being destroyed by logging, primarily for wood chips. The big horsepower logging trucks thunder up and down this road, three at a time every half hour. It is only when you start to count the trucks and the felled trees on them that you get an appreciation for just how much destruction is taking place. Would we let it happen if we knew?
Meet Yoshi from Japan. We bumped into each other just a few kilometers West of Cann River. He's heading West, I'm heading East. This is Yoshi's first time outside Japan and first time in Australia and yet he is riding from Cairns to Melbourne to Perth to Broome to Darwin to Alice Springs and back to Cairns! What more can a mere mortal say! Add to that the 45kilograms (at least) of weight strapped onto his old (10 speed, I think) pushbike and the fact that he is camping on his own in the bush, and you get a real sense of the courage and toughness that this guy posesses! Yoshi is the second Japanese pushbike tourist I have met and both of them were in awe at the sheer physical size of this country. It was a delight to meet him in the middle of nowhere and to share some very special comradery!
