Support Vehicle!!

Tadaah, here she is:



This is the vehicle and caravan grateful provided by Eric and Marilyn for us to use on the entire adventure! The bicycle riders can comfortably sleep in this van and we can cook inside it if we need to. Ample space too!

For the hike/Bibbulmun part in WA we may need to find volunteers to drive the support vehicle up from one access point to the next... If you think you can help and live in that direction.... do get in touch: support@coughing4cf.com !

Welcoming Leonie to the ride!

Leonie is joining us for the ride across the Nullarbor! She thought about it for a while and figured she couldn't do it, but now she has come round and so far committed to coming from Devonport to Adelaide! Welcome aboard :)

To date the full-time team of cyclists (who will take turns driving the support vehicle when they fall over) consists of all Tasmanian Hash House Harriers: TripleTop (Jo) and Swordy (Marilyn) and GoneAgain (me). Then we have Thrust (Cindy) and  Eweturn (Leonie) going from Devonport to Adelaide and Karina from Adelaide to Albany. We still need one rider to join us for the entire way.

We are still looking for a major sponsor to help us pay for Team Expenses, ranging from the Spirit of Tasmania to get the support vehicle shipped from Devonport to Melbourne and back and to help pay for some other team expenses. In return we will provide some national press coverage, and will carry the sponsor's message across Australia. The sponsors will also be featuring on a book and the blog of course :)

Cyclists so far!

Plans are shaping up nicely!
We have the following riders:

Jo (pictured on the left below), Hash House Harrier from Devonport Hash will be coming along for the entire bicycle ride, and fellow Devonport Hasher Cindy (right) for some of the ride. Cindy has joined me on various other Cystic Fibrosis Fundraisers (Vietnam to Singapore, Paris to Istanbul, Sydney to Melbourne, Mount Kinabalu,...)


Marilyn (pictured below), Hash House Harrier from Burnie Hash was the first person to commit to the entire adventure, both ride and hike. Marilyn is hoping to bring her main-man along for some sections but has volunteered their vehicle and caravan to be our support vehicle!


Karina from Adelaide (pictured below standing next to me) is a veteran adventurer herself, having joined me on  the El Camino in Spain, and cycled with us from Vietnam to Singapore. She is not 100% committed yet, but we are all confident she will come.


If you are interested in coming along and help ride and drive with us, or interested in helping out or walking along the Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia email: info@coughing4cf.com. We plan to start the ride 8 March 2015 and arrive around Easter in Albany, WA.  The hike along the Bibbulmun Track will start after a few good rest days in Albany, and will go from mid April to early June 2015. 

www.proelectricbikes.com.au has kindly come on board again to supply us with the popular Aseako Electric Bicycles. Proelectricbikes have sponsored me in the past with Zoco Rossa Electric Bikes for the 5000km+ ride from Hanoi to Singapore in the past. We have great faith in these bicycles and hope to make the distance across the Nullarbor to spread inspiration and awareness about Cystic Fibrosis and the importance of becoming an Organ Donor.


WE ARE URGENTLY LOOKING FOR A FEATURE SPONSOR WHO WOULD LIKE TO HELP US WITH TEAM EXPENSES ALONG THE WAY!

Contact support@coughing4cf.com if you think you can help!

Friends of the Bibbulmun Track

Excellent start to a new adventure! Ree and I became an official Bibbulmun Family!
Events are posted on Facebook, if you like to keep posted with the organisation of either the Ride or the Hike click JOIN: https://www.facebook.com/Coughing4Cf/events.

Also, negotiations with possible sponsors are taking shape for the Ride and Hike for Cystic Fibrosis. Dates and itineraries are set (in mud).

Hardest for me will be leaving Lily behind and find a place for her for a couple of months while Ree comes over to Western Australia.

Hiking the Bibbulmun and Riding the Nullarbor Dates!

The Bibbulmun track will be the biggest challenge. I will need to carry my own supplies and somehow keep my medicine cool... Fortunately it is a beautiful hike and there may be a few people joining me here and there. Most people seem to hike from North to South, I am doing it the other way as I like to go from Devonport to Perth, and given we want the last of the summer tailwinds on the Nullarbor and avoid the heat of summer in WA.

To understand how beautiful it is have a look at these links:

Couple from PNG: http://www.mitupela.net/gnw/bibbulmun.html
Kim's Walk: http://www.kimswalk.com/events/2013-07
Yetizone Guidebook: http://www.yetizone.com/australia/Bibbulmun/Track/Bibbulmun-Track.shtml
The official page: https://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au

Here is the proposed schedule to date, cycling till just past Easter. If the wind blows maybe we'll get to Albany by Easter :) Then the hike along the Bibbulmun starts....



Ride across the Nullarbor Plains:

Note there are no rest days in this proposed schedule and that is because some distances are so short that we will plan and compact days to create rest days. I expect we will easily do 100-120kms in a day depending on the winds... This means we will get at least one or two rest days in Adelaide.

DATE	TOWN	KMS
Devonport (by ferry!)	Melbourne	0
Saturday, 7 March 2015	Geelong	80
Sunday, 8 March 2015	Camperdown	119
Monday, 9 March 2015	Warrnambool	68
Tuesday, 10 March 2015	Heywood	93
Wednesday, 11 March 2015	Mount Gambier	90
Thursday, 12 March 2015	Naracoorte	104
Friday, 13 March 2015	Coorong	168
Saturday, 14 March 2015	Victor Harbour	18
Sunday, 15 March 2015	Adelaide	90
Monday, 16 March 2015	Kadina	150
Tuesday, 17 March 2015 (meant to be a ferry for 50kms...)	Lock	201
Wednesday, 18 March 2015	Elliston	92
Thursday, 19 March 2015	Port Kenny	70
Friday, 20 March 2015	Streaky Bay	62
Saturday, 21 March 2015	Ceduna	110
Sunday, 22 March 2015	Penong	73
Monday, 23 March 2015	Nundroo	79
Tuesday, 24 March 2015	Yalata	52
Wednesday, 25 March 2015	Nullarbor	93
Thursday, 26 March 2015	Border Village	186
Friday, 27 March 2015	Eucla	13
Saturday, 28 March 2015	Mundrabilla	66
Sunday, 29 March 2015	Madura	116
Monday, 30 March 2015	Cocklebiddy	91
Tuesday, 31 March 2015	Caiguna	65
Wednesday, 1 April 2015	Balladonia	154
Thursday, 2 April 2015	Fraser Range	117
Friday, 3 April 2015	Norseman	105
Saturday, 4 April 2015	Salmon Gums	97
Sunday, 5 April 2015	Esperance	104
Monday, 6 April 2015	Munglinup	106
Tuesday, 7 April 2015	Ravensthorpe	81
Wednesday, 8 April 2015	Jerramungup	116
Thursday, 9 April 2015	Manypeaks	139
Friday, 10 April 2015	Albany	40

Hike along Bibbulmun Track:
Note these are just proposed dates!

Sunday, 12 April 2015	Albany	Hidden Valley	20 km
Monday, 13 April 2015	Hidden Valley	Cosey Corner	15 km
Tuesday, 14 April 2015	Cosey Corner	Torbay	2 km
Wednesday, 15 April 2015	Torbay	West Cape Howe	16 km
Thursday, 16 April 2015	West Cape Howe	Nulaki	17 km
Friday, 17 April 2015	Nulaki	Denmark	14 km
Saturday, 18 April 2015	REST	REST
Sunday, 19 April 2015	Denmark	William Bay	21 km
Monday, 20 April 2015	William Bay	Boat Harbour	20 km
Tuesday, 21 April 2015	REST	REST
Wednesday, 22 April 2015	Boat Harbour	Peaceful Bay	23 km
Thursday, 23 April 2015	Peaceful Bay	Rame Head	11 km
Friday, 24 April 2015	Rame Head	Giants	16 km
Saturday, 25 April 2015	Giants	Franklin River	14 km
Sunday, 26 April 2015	Franklin River	Walpole	18 km
Monday, 27 April 2015	REST	REST
Tuesday, 28 April 2015	Walpole	Mount Clare	10 km
Wednesday, 29 April 2015	Mount Clare	Long Point	12 km
Thursday, 30 April 2015	Long Point	Woolbales	17 km
Friday, 1 May 2015	Woolbales	Mount Chance	20 km
Saturday, 2 May 2015	Mount Chance	Dog Pool	19 km
Sunday, 3 May 2015	REST	REST
Monday, 4 May 2015	Dog Pool	Lake Maringup	25 km
Tuesday, 5 May 2015	Lake Maringup	Gardner	16 km
Wednesday, 6 May 2015	Gardner	Northcliffe	15 km
Thursday, 7 May 2015	Northcliffe	Schaffer	14 km
Friday, 8 May 2015	Schaffer	Warren	21 km
Saturday, 9 May 2015	Warren	Pemberton	21 km
Sunday, 10 May 2015	REST	REST
Monday, 11 May 2015	Pemberton	Beedelup	24 km
Tuesday, 12 May 2015	Beedelup	Beavis	19 km
Wednesday, 13 May 2015	Beavis Campsite	Boardinghouse	19 km
Thursday, 14 May 2015	REST	REST
Friday, 15 May 2015	Boardinghouse	Tom Road	23 km
Saturday, 16 May 2015	Tom Road	Donnelly River	16 km
Sunday, 17 May 2015	REST	REST
Monday, 18 May 2015	Donnelly River	Gregory Brook	21 km
Tuesday, 19 May 2015	Gregory Brook	Blackwood	18 km
Wednesday, 20 May 2015	Blackwood	Balingup	17 km
Thursday, 21 May 2015	REST	REST
Friday, 22 May 2015	Balingup	Grimwade	23 km
Saturday, 23 May 2015	Grimwade	Noggerup	22 km
Sunday, 24 May 2015	Noggerup	Yabberup	18 km
Monday, 25 May 2015	Yabberup	Collie	20 km
Tuesday, 26 May 2015	REST	REST
Wednesday, 27 May 2015	REST	REST
Thursday, 28 May 2015	Harris Dam	Yourdamung	15 km
Friday, 29 May 2015	Yourdamung	Possum Springs	20 km
Saturday, 30 May 2015	Possum Springs	Dookanelly	20 km
Sunday, 31 May 2015	Dookanelly	Murray	18 km
Monday, 1 June 2015	Murray	Swamp Oak	19 km
Tuesday, 2 June 2015	Swamp Oak	Dwellingup	13 km
Wednesday, 3 June 2015	REST	REST
Thursday, 4 June 2015	Dwellingup	Chadoora	20 km
Friday, 5 June 2015	Chadoora	Mount Wells	15 km
Saturday, 6 June 2015	Mount Wells	White Horse Hill	15 km
Sunday, 7 June 2015	White Horse Hills	Gringer Creek	18 km
Monday, 8 June 2015	Gringer Creek	Bushstop	22 km
Tuesday, 9 June 2015	Bush Stop	Monadnocks	20 km
Wednesday, 10 June 2015	REST	REST
Thursday, 11 June 2015	Monadnocks	Canning	16 km
Friday, 12 June 2015	Canning	Mount Dale	20 km
Saturday, 13 June 2015	Mount Dale	Waalegh	20 km
Sunday, 14 June 2015	Waalegh	Ball Creek	18 km
Monday, 15 June 2015	Ball Creek	Kalamunda	21 km

Ride across the Nullarbor

Riding from Devonport to Albany...  Just a start...

DATE	TOWN	KMS
	Melbourne	0
Saturday, 1 March 2014	Geelong	80
Sunday, 2 March 2014	Camperdown	119
Monday, 3 March 2014	Warrnambool	68
Tuesday, 4 March 2014	Heywood	93
Wednesday, 5 March 2014	Mount Gambier	90
Thursday, 6 March 2014	Naracoorte	104
Friday, 7 March 2014	Coorong	168
Saturday, 8 March 2014	Victor Harbour	18
Sunday, 9 March 2014	Adelaide	90
Monday, 10 March 2014	Kadina	150
Tuesday, 11 March 2014	Lock	201	ferry 50km!
Wednesday, 12 March 2014	Elliston	92
Thursday, 13 March 2014	Port Kenny	70
Friday, 14 March 2014	Streaky Bay	62
Saturday, 15 March 2014	Ceduna	110
Sunday, 16 March 2014	Penong	73
Monday, 17 March 2014	Nundroo	79
Tuesday, 18 March 2014	Yalata	52
Wednesday, 19 March 2014	Nullarbor	93
Thursday, 20 March 2014	Border Village	186
Friday, 21 March 2014	Eucla	13
Saturday, 22 March 2014	Mundrabilla	66
Sunday, 23 March 2014	Madura	116
Monday, 24 March 2014	Cocklebiddy	91
Tuesday, 25 March 2014	Caiguna	65
Wednesday, 26 March 2014	Balladonia	154	all straight!
Thursday, 27 March 2014	Fraser Range	117
Friday, 28 March 2014	Norseman	105
Saturday, 29 March 2014	Salmon Gums	97
Sunday, 30 March 2014	Esperance	104
Monday, 31 March 2014	Munglinup	106
Tuesday, 1 April 2014	Ravensthorpe	81
Wednesday, 2 April 2014	Jerramungup	116
Thursday, 3 April 2014	Manypeaks	139
Friday, 4 April 2014	Albany	40

Am I the oldest person with CF?

Thank goodness there are plenty of people with Cystic Fibrosis older than me! What you do with your cystic fibrosis differs wildly. But no matter what you do the odds are generally against you. Some people have a career and family and that keeps them strong and motivated to be compliant and fight CF. I plan adventures and that motivates me to keep fit and healthy. Having a dog helps me get out thehouse  hail rain or shine for a decent walk with plenty of hills each day, or even a paddle in my kayak (with dog!). My adventure planning motivates me to ride my bicycle everywhere everyday around town - even though I now use an electric bike it still makes me cough (I consider the power the equivalent to a permanent tail wind).

But just to answer he question, here is the graph for Australia in 2012.  I still have room to move at 48.

I did see a graph indicating lung function decline, and that is more worrying. Hardly blowing 35% of expected is not a good place to be but I'm coping with it quite well. According to the below graph it is just about where statistics would project me at.

The Way of CF now available on line!

Well, I am amazed! We have The Way of CF available on Amazon UK and US (links below). You can now have a full colour large format paperback book (100 pages, size of A4 paper roughly) to read about The Way of CF, walking the El Camino with Cystic Fibrosis!



Though you can find it on Amazon I suggest you buy it right from the source, which is CreateSpace
https://www.createspace.com/4717792 - and a $5 DISCOUNT COUPON for that link: G5K525BB

If you live in Australia, I am keeping some in stock and can mail them for AU$20. Any profits/donations are of course used to fund books that I donate to CF Associations or use as gifts to people with Cystic Fibrosis. And when details of  the 2015 Bibulmun Track become available, 1000kms hike through Western Australia, funds may be used to help fund postcards etc for that trip - watch out! Anyone who has a suggestion for a name for that fundraiser leave a comment or email bibulmun@cotu.biz !

PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW OF THE BOOK ON
GOODREADS or AMAZON!

• https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21543033-the-way-of-cf
• http://www.amazon.com/The-Way-CF-Santiago-Fibrosis/dp/1497361095
• http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Way-CF-Santiago-Fibrosis/dp/1497361095