Welcome to my website

Garry McGivern, Travelsonabike2. From West Sussex in England, is a long-distance cycle tourist who has cycled over 60,000 miles in 35 countries across five continents and is still going.

In December 2007, I lost my wife to breast cancer, aged only 42. To say thank you to the local hospice that cared for her (St Wilfred’s) and to keep myself occupied. I decided to go on a charity bike ride from Spain to England. After completing this first cycle ride, I found that I’d got a real taste for long-distance cycling and cycle touring.

Despite being middle-aged and overweight, I can ride a bike for miles without any practice or training! And have been cycling around different countries ever since.

A Slight Hiccup

Unfortunately, in July 2018, I had severe sepsis shock and was put into an induced coma! (Read what happened )

As you can imagine, this left me unable to ride my bike! But after spending six weeks in the care of my local hospital. Where I also had a temporary hip fitted, I was allowed home.

After a further two months of recovery at home, with much physio and to-ing and fro-ing from the hospital! I was once again able to get back on my bike and cycle. And what a feeling that was!

Disappointingly though, since contracting sepsis. I seem to have spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital with various ailments. But I’m always keen to get back on the bike after each episode. And with work commitments, health and finances permitting, I continue to cycle.

I have set up this website so people can follow my travels; please click on any of the links to find out more.

I hope you enjoy the ride!!!

Where’s Garry

Where’s Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 currently riding his bike at the moment? After spending a week cycling around Brittany, France, in early May, Garry returned home for a series of hospital appointments and tests. (Hence the short tour.) He had hoped to only be home for a week or two before heading off again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.

One of Garry’s hospital appointments was for an MRI scan. He’d been experiencing a lot of neck pain over the past few months. Unfortunately, the scan showed Garry had a degenerative disease (Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy). A serious condition that causes narrowing of the cervical spinal canal, leading to chronic spinal cord compression and resultant neurologic disability.

Despite this devastating news, Garry still hopes to get away on his bike. But he won’t be embarking on any major tours until he learns more about his condition and how it might impact his life. But he’s still hoping to go away on shorter trips over a few days or more. You can find out where Garry is at the moment and how his Myelopathy affects him and his cycling by subscribing to his email updates or following Garry on social media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.

Page updated May 2023

Latest Posts:

May-2023 Brittany Bicycle-Tour Photo-Album

Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 May-2023 Brittany bicycle-tour photo-album on Flickr. Photographs that Garry took on his 500-mile cycle ride around Brittany. It was only a short tour, as Garry didn’t have a huge amount of time as he had to return home for some investigative hospital appointments. (The results of which are in a YouTube video …