Bike-Ride to Australia 6th-May-2012

Garry McGivern’s bike-ride to Australia Sunday 6th-May-2012. In Brisbane. I spent much of the morning sorting out my gear, airing my tent and sleeping bag, and emptying my panniers. I can’t believe how much extra I’ve ended up carrying.

Three ladies and a man
With my cousins from left to right Zoe, Penny and Beverly

Errol and Zoe held a family barbeque for me this afternoon, where I got to meet the rest of the family that I hadn’t met yesterday. Most of them I’ve never met. I’d met Zoe and Errol before when they came over to England a couple of years ago. But I’d never met Beverly and Penny, my other cousins or their families.

They had all left England with their parents, my uncle and aunt, when I was a baby, back in 1964. They’d come over on the “ten-pound pom” scheme. I also have another cousin in Australia, Ian. But he wasn’t around as he was currently away working in Perth. But the rest of his family was here. I also had my first “rocky road” cake. Beverly had been making and selling them at work to raise money for my charities. It was particularly nice to meet Stefanie, Bev’s daughter. Stef and my Vicky had become pen friends when they were young, and embarrassingly Stef had bought some old photos of me that Vicky had sent over.

In the evening, I had a Skype call to family and friends who had gathered at The Fox Inn. It was great to see and talk to some of the locals down the pub, who I’ve not seen in six months. I didn’t twig until later that it was only just lunchtime back in the UK. Ha, if I were there, I would just be settling in for the afternoon! A really enjoyable day.

It’s still not too late to sponsor me. All donations go to cancer research charities. You can donate to Cancer Research UK or the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation. Click on either one to donate.

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