Author: Garry

This week’s Travelsonabike2 bicycle touring on this day post comes from Australia on the 3rd-May-2012. And I’ve only got two days left of my ride across the world from the UK.

Thursday 3rd May 2012 Maclean to Brunswick Heads. 77 miles.

It may sound shocking, but I prefer staying in motels to pubs! Pubs aren’t any cheaper, and generally, you have to unload the bike and leave it somewhere away from your room. There’s no unloading in a motel. I get to wheel the bike into my room. And in the morning I can just leave when I want. This morning, I had to wait ages for somebody to come and unlock the room where I’d stored my bike. Although after saying all that, pubs do have a bar!!

I met a young lad from Holland this morning. He was in Australia backpacking, although not at the moment. He’s taken a break from backpacking and is cycling from Melbourne to Cannes. I rode with him for an hour or so but left him when he stopped for a break.

I’m back in a motel tonight, although it’s a little odd. The motel’s owner, an elderly lady, has hundreds of small aviaries scattered around the place, and there are only one or two birds in each one. She’s also rather abrupt. I decided to get a haircut tonight; I thought I’d best look pretty for my cousins on Saturday.

Please Donate

There are only two days left until I finish, so please don’t forget the main reason behind my ride: raising as much money for cancer research charities as possible. You can donate to Cancer Research UK or the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation. Click on either one to donate. Even the smallest donation helps and is gratefully received.

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If you want to find out if Garry’s away touring at the moment and check his location, visit the Where’s Garry web page.

Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 is bicycle touring England on Friday, 3rd-May-2024. Brockenhurst to Brighstone. 26 miles, and some of those miles have been cycled over the past couple of days.

I wasn’t in any rush to leave Hollands Wood this morning as I knew it was only a short ride to the ferry in Lymington and across the island to Brighstone. Even though I was in no rush, I was still up at my usual time, 5.30/6. I just took my time packing away.

Off To The Isle of Wight

I timed it to perfection, catching the ferry across to the Isle of Wight (not that it was planned.) I turned up, brought a ticket, and jumped straight on. And I managed to pop my old codgers discount cherry. They gave me a discount on the ferry ticket. I’ll make sure I remember that one in the future. And guess who I bumped into on the ferry? Some of the bikers from the legendary bikers do, which was always the highlight of the early May Bank Holiday weekend. And the reason I’ve come over here this weekend. It’s the annual Isle of Wight bike ride.

Unfortunately, it’s not an annual thing anymore, and the bikers are no longer in the field next door. They moved to a different venue a couple of years ago. But the ride is taking place this year, which will be fun. I think there are around forty people of all ages and abilities. I’ll cycle across the island tomorrow to meet them off the ferry.

I might not post anything over the next few days. I’ll see how it goes. But I’ll definitely post something when I leave to go home. I have to be home on Tuesday for the hospital.

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where I’ll publish the photos from this tour once I’m home. Pictures from all my tours and monthly photos can also be found on Flickr.

You can also follow my progress and see where I stop each night by visiting the Where’s Garry web page; there, you’ll find a map of the route I’ve taken so far.

Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 is bicycle touring England on Thursday, 2nd-May-2024. Still in Brockenhurst. What was I saying about the noise of the rain on the tent yesterday keeping me awake? Well, it was rather loud, but that wasn’t my problem. I had more of an issue with the rising water.

I don’t know whether I slept through a lot of the storm because it didn’t seem that bad to me. But then, when I did wake up, I remembered the start of a puddle outside my tent door when it was raining last night before I went to bed. I thought I’d better lift the groundsheet so the puddle would go underneath. Haha, too late. The outer tent was under two to three inches of water. And my inner tent was floating on water. It was like being on a water bed.

That’ll Teach You

After realising how much water there was in my tent, I quickly gathered everything together. I’ve become very lacks and lazy lately. Ever since I was blown away in a tornado in 2008, I’ve always made sure everything is ready to go, just in case. I’d even had a conversation with one of the wardens about how I pack everything away each night, literally just before the rain started last night. How stupid did I look this morning? Still, there was no harm done, and it was only the outer tent that got wet.

There are a couple of short videos of my ordeal on my YouTube channel. Or my Facebook and Instagram pages.

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where I’ll publish the photos from this tour once I’m home. Pictures from all my tours and monthly photos can also be found on Flickr.

You can also follow my progress and see where I stop each night by visiting the Where’s Garry web page; there, you’ll find a map of the route I’ve taken so far.

Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 is bicycle touring England on Wednesday, 1st-May-2024. In Brockenhurst, again! My interview went okay this morning and lasted just over an hour. Whether I was any help, I don’t know. But at least I’ve tried to help.

There seem to be loads of midges in camp at the moment. I noticed it last night. They were so annoying that I closed the tent up early before it got dark. I thought it was just in the evening they came out. But it wasn’t. They were around again today.

It might be because of all the wet ground that’s around; who knows? I’ve never noticed it before, but then I’ve never spent so much time down here before.

And speaking of it being wet. There’s a weather warning for heavy rain with a chance of thunderstorms tonight. It could be a long night. I might need to stuff some socks or toilet paper in my ears. Rain makes a lot of noise in a tent, even when it’s not heavy. And it’s already started. But at least I get to try my new tarp out, which I’m very pleased with so far.

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where I’ll publish the photos from this tour once I’m home. Pictures from all my tours and monthly photos can also be found on Flickr.

You can also follow my progress and see where I stop each night by visiting the Where’s Garry web page; there, you’ll find a map of the route I’ve taken so far.