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'!

(Third Leg - Brisbane to Gladstone 604Km's)

Third Leg - Brisbane to Gladstone 604Km's
Statistics

Detailed statistics covering Km's / day, Hours on Bike, Average Speed, Maximum Speed and Calories of Energy Expended are recorded below.

Friday 2nd May - Caboolture to Marcoola, 74km's, Time on Bike 3Hrs 30min, Avg 21.4Km/h, Max 36Km/h, Calories 1150

Saturday 3rd - Coolum to Gympie, 79.5km's, Time on Bike 4Hrs 8min, Avg 19.2Km/h, Max 50Km/h, Cal 1172

Sunday 4th - Gympie to Poona, 81.4Km's, Time on Bike 4Hrs 22min, Avg 18.6Km/h, Max 52.8Km/h, Cal 1155

Monday 5th - Poona to Maryborough, 37.5Km's, Time on Bike 1Hr 53min, Avg 19.9Km/h, Max 34Km/h, Cal 480

Tuesday 6th - Maryborough to Childers, 61Km's, Time on Bike 3Hrs 8 min, Avg 19.4Km/h, Max 39.8Km/h, Cal 812

Wednesday 7th - Childers to Lake Monduran, 76.9Km's, Time on Bike 4Hrs 3min, Avg 18.9Km/h, Max 50.2Km/h, Cal 1079.8

Thursday 8th - Lake Monduran to Miriam Vale, 84Km's, Time on Bike 4Hrs 25min, Avg 18.9Km/h, Max 47Km/h, Cal 1249

Friday 9th - Miriam Vale to Gladstone, 69.5Km's, Time On Bike 3Hrs 14min, Avg 21.4Km/h, Max 42.9Km/h, Cal 1071.4

Various Days Getting Back to Melbourne - 40.2 Km's, Time on Bike 3Hrs 9min, Avg 12.4Km/h, Max 30.6Km/h, Cal 381

Total Km's of 3rd Leg - 604

Total Days on Bike - 10

Average Km's Per Day - 60.4

Total Km's of 1st, 2nd and 3rd Leg - 2,617

Total Days on Bike - 43

Average Km's Per Day - 61

Odometer Reading to Date Including 800 Kilometres of Training

3,430

First Leg - Central Victoria to Sydney

Second Leg - Sydney to Brisbane

Kris's community concert in Maryborough was simply outstanding. The Maryborough Arts Council is an incredibly active organisation that wholeheartedly supports artists and the cultural development of the region. It was standing room only at 'Janet's Art Books' where the concert was held and after the event I was priveledged to spend a good deal of time talking with many from the audience about 'For Blokes Sake'. As in many other towns, there were a large number of people whose lives had been touched with cancer, either directly or through friends and relatives. Through the concert and the generosity of many in the audience another $40.00 was raised during the afternoon towards the 'For Blokes Sake' cause. Thank you Maryborough, Queensland for your generosity and support!
A late model Ford Falcon just 4km's outside of Poona. Apparently the driver had only recently found out about Peak Oil and decided that if the oil is running out, then he could put his car to a much better use like cooking his tea for the night. (That's my story and I am sticking to it!) Unfortunately, as you can see, he also set alight to the adjacent bushland for about 50 metres. It's clear from this photo that when this thing did set alight it blew both the bonnet and boot back on to the cars front and rear windows. Must have been one hell of a sight when it went off! The ride from Poona into Maryborough, approx 40Km's, was as flat as a pancake and a very welcome relief.
On the way to Maryborough (QLD) I caught up with Kris approx 20km's outside of Tin Can Bay for a morning tea break. As we munched away, these bikers from the annual May Day weekend ride rolled into the rest area. These Harley's, Goldwings and other assorted makes in incredibly immaculate condition were being ridden by an incredibly nice bunch of guys, most of them mates from when they were in their teens. A few of them were interested in Kris's trailer even going as far as crawling underneath to check out the suspension and design. We had lots of laughs about the madman on the pushbike and the crazy woman towing a trailer behind a motorbike. Thanks guys for making our day! I rode off before them and received a chorus of horn blows and salutes as they passed me on road a short time later.
Turning off the Bruce Highway to the Lake Monduran Camping Ground I hit this cattle grid (one of two) at about 20km/h. You just don't realise how far the rails are apart until you hit one of these things on a pushbike at that speed. Needless to say, I got off and walked across the second one! They are in place because the road from the entrance through to the lake is unfenced and cattle are wandering along the roadside. It hits you pretty hard up here just how quickly the suburbia of Maryborough (QLD) turns into remoteness. There is little between Childers and Gladstone meaning long haul days of 80km's plus if you are riding a pushbike and need food, shelter and supplies. There are however lots of Big Trucks, they run all night, take a break during the morning and start the whole process again in the afternoon. The mining boom north of here has seen an explosion in road freight.
Kris got as far as Goondiwindi, some 700 Km's from Gladstone and had just booked her accommodation for the night when she received news from Melbourne that her mum Denise (pictured) had suffered a severe stroke. Kris and her mum are extremely close and in a feat of stamina I can only explain as simply unbelievable, Kris immediately hopped on her bike to ride another 350 Kilometres through the night in order to get to Brisbane to catch a plane back to Melbourne to be by her mum's side. For anybody who has ridden a motorbike long distances you'll understand just what it takes to ride 1050km's in a day. Add to that the fact that Kris was also towing a trailer and you get a sense of the courage and strength that this took. As I write this, some 11 days later, Kris is meeting with a Neurosurgeon at the Royal Melbourne Hospital to discuss her Mum's condition. Unfortunately, Denise has stopped responding to stimulus. All we can do is to take each day as it comes.
Kris performed in Gladstone to a packed audience at the Art Gallery on Sunday the 11th. Once again I was priveledged to talk with a number of people from the audience about 'For Blokes Sake' and the pushbike ride. The community concert raised $35.00 towards the cause and another potential work place related cancer story for the web site. Thank you Gladstone for all your very kind support. Kris headed off for Victoria on the motorbike with trailer on Monday morning. My train didn't depart until 10.40pm that night so I had the day to spend riding around Gladstone doing some sightseeing. This is the Gladstone Marina and Port in the distance where huge quantities of Coal are shipped out daily. The marina is an amazing place, almost a little village in its own right, complete with shops, boat sales and believe it or not, a University!
This is the picture from the Gladstone Observer that greeted me on the morning of Saturday May 10th, with the headline, "Another Life Lost on Horror Road - Truckie Killed When Rig Overturns". This combined with another newspaper article from the 7th of May, "Cyclist Dies After Hit by Truck in Queensland" and the number of scares I had experienced over the last few days on the Bruce Highway, all added up to convince me that it was simply too dangerous to continue with the tour through to Cairns. After discussing it at length with Kris we decided to take a break in Gladstone over the next couple of days and begin our separate journies back to Victoria on Monday 12th of May.
On the way to Miriam Vale (a 4 1/2 Hour Trip) I recorded on my handlebar video camera, a 9 minute piece of footage that shows just how dangerous riding a pushbike can be when other road users are reckless. The link to the left will take you to a separate page where you can view a 30 second piece of truck driver recklessness. This incident was just 1 of 6, all identical and taking place in 3 consecutive days. Keep in mind that the camera I have has a 'fish eye' perspective, meaning that things, like those in modern day car wing mirrors, appear further away than they really are. This video does not have sound, or pick up the impact of wind as cars and trucks whiz past. The other 8 1/2 minutes has some scary moments in it as well. I will be showing the remaining footage and another 2 of the 6 incidents, in future 'For Blokes Sake' talks.
Kris's community concert in Miriam Vale was another outstanding success. A small crowd of approx 20 people gathered in the very impressive Community Centre to hear her play and listen to a brief talk about 'For Blokes Sake'. The evening raised an amazing $85.00 for the cause (the third largest community donation to date) and many people in the audience took time out to talk with me about how cancer had touched their lives. It bought home again just how many men are affected by cancer through their work. We hope to bring you just a few of their stories in the near future. My sincere thanks to the people of Miriam Vale for taking the time to come and listen and for their very generous donations on the night. It never ceases to amaze me just how generous small regional towns are especially when we consider that these people are so often doing it tough themselves through drought and other hardships. Thank you Miriam Vale!
Every Cyclists Nightmare!