...Thank you...

 Over three years ago, project UK to AUS made its humble beginnings.

..One can't do it alone..

Leaving the rut of everyday ‘normal’ life and doing something different, something which not just takes from me but also puts a lot back into mine and other peoples’ lives, enhancing personal wellbeing, even changing my outlook of the world, people, and life in general. And it should have an adventurous aspect to it as well – that was my dream!

But where do you start with a brief like this??

Well, thankfully I only have a very few ‘big’ hobbies which interlink with each other quite easily; Summer and winter hiking (preferably in the mountains), cycling, travelling & food!

Bang! Bike trekking hits three of my hobbies at ones and the fourth can easily be added as and when!

Easy so far!...

And then it started dawning on me: Organizing such an adventure needs more than one brain, a laptop, some money and my closest peoples’ consent! 

..And this is what this blog is about..

Extremely helpful people

People I have not thanked enough for helping to get us to Istanbul and further for myself!

..Emma..

Emma is a good friend of ours from the village we live in. Years ago, I got to know Emma though her husband Sean who plays tennis with Rebecca.

Emma is amazing on the computer and has created websites before.  

Over some pre-dinner drinks in their garden last autumn, Emma offered to build a website for us, talking about www.wix.com which is a tool which makes it reasonably simple to create a website.

Wix also provides lots of free of charge guidance and hints all the way along and one can subscribe to different levels of membership, depending on the purpose of the website. There also would be lots of options for add-ons, feedback statistics, easy navigation, upgrades, and the cost of it all is very reasonable etc etc.

Listening to all of this, already went beyond my IT conceptions, but I did understand that Emma could be THE person to get a website up and running for us!

You right away sold your idea to me Emma!

At this point, little did we know how many hours we (including Rebecca) would be spending together working on this. Well, you were the one working; typing, clicking, dragging, pasting, inserting, previewing, changing, thinking, wondering, adjusting... and Rebecca got pretty savvy at it too.

And me? I was the dead weight, making sure pastries were ready to start our sessions and their coffee cups and water glasses got regularly topped up and otherwise pretty much just guided what would be nice to have on the website…  

What a fabulous job you did Emma!

And not just this, you also created our logo which fits perfectly with the name!

Thank you very much Emma for setting this all up for us and offering ongoing support whenever needed!

I dare not to think how our website would look without your help!

..Sean..

Yes, Sean is Emma’s husband. Sean (and Emma) are highly creative people!

Sean used to be a music teacher and professional writer. Nowadays, Sean is one of the most knowledgeable and entertaining tour guides in the Oxfordshire area! www.offbeatscotswolds.com 

On a Sunday afternoon walk, they had a bit of fun playing with names for our website and one of Seans’ suggestions was Pans and Panniers! www.pansandpanniers.com 

We love it! Thank you, Sean!

..Richard..

Richard is passionate about bikes – his own bikes mainly!...

www.oxfordbikeworks.co.uk 

Many of the Oxford Bike Works bikes are currently on route somewhere around the world, carrying heaving loads and a rider up and down mountain roads, crossing deserts, countries, and whole continents.

Richard's knowledge, passion and professionalism made it easy to choose the right bikes for our travels. He never pushed for a sale or an upgrade but instead, he listened carefully what the bike was meant to be doing and then produced informed suggestions.

A standard of professionalism I have not seen many times in bike shops! I think his confidence in his own product makes all the difference!

From the first consultation to the first test ride and fitting of the bike to the last minor adjustments just before leaving the UK, Richard was there for us, wanting to make sure our bikes will be exactly what we needed!

Combined, Rebecca and I have done about 13,000 km on our Oxford Bike Works bikes and apart from expected punctures, the only little issue we had so far, was when we lost one of the screws which attaches the back pannier rack to the frame!

Knowing Richard, he will be really annoyed by this... 

Fantastic job, Richard! Thank you very much!

..Noel..

Becoming a bike trekking junkie also means one will become a bit of a lightweight equipment junkie... For obvious reasons!

Choosing the right equipment for the job is a daunting task! Not knowing each brands strength, not understanding all the technical blurb and specifications, reading contradicting customer reviews, and trying to fit it all into a budget takes months and months to do – unless you have a Noel!

Well, I had an advantage here! Noel is my son and as it happens, he has been working for Baechli Bergsport www.baechli-bergsport.ch for many years now.

Baechli Bergsport  is the leading mountaineering and skiing expert in Switzerland. And what do mountaineers not want to do? Carrying heavy loads – just as us!

Noel’s product knowledge, expert advice, and patience with his dad made it a very pleasurable time to discuss, choose & eventually buy most of our day-to-day gear either from him or based on his recommendations.   

Tent, sleeping bags and mats, multifuel cooker, pots, water filtering system, dry bags, some clothing, satellite positioning device – all gear we needed for our trip and it all works very well!

Top job Noel! Thank you!

 ..Wang..

The fasted Chinese Chef I know...

Wang was part of my team at LMH for as long as I was there! A great guy to have in any team!

No formal chef qualifications, but he watches, listens, reads up on things and then he does it – at speed! Often it looked like he had a Chinese chopper (cleaver) on steroids!

Wang left his home country quite some years ago but has not forgotten how things work in China.

In the lead up to the trip, Wang would regularly approach me or come to the office in the middle of the working day saying things like: “Chef have you thought about navigation in China? Google maps will not work! You must download this app here!”

“Chef what about the weather? It can be cold in the areas you want to go, make sure you are prepared!”

“Chef, you will not find many people speaking English, I’ll come up with something for you!”

And about three days before we set off from Hooky, I had an email from Wang: pages of phrases in Mandarin from the usual niceties to asking for accommodation, to describing illnesses!

This will all be immensely helpful if I am able to obtain a visa for China later in the year!

Thank you, Wang! This is all very much appreciated!

I miss watching you working with your chopper…

..Richard & Miranda..

All our personal goods went in storage, the house was rented out and we were ready to go!..

Not quite! What about the 2 other bicycles and the car?

Thanks Richard and Miranda for giving the car a temporary home and looking after it! This is much appreciated!

..Jonny & Hester with Partners (Rebecca’s kids)..

Thank you Jonny for taking in my bikes which simply did not fit into our storage space anymore with all the other goods!

And a special thank you for coming out to Istanbul to pick-up Rebecca’s bike and taking it safely back to the UK!

And there is Hester, our ‘runner’!

Apart from storing some very personal belongings, Hester will have to jump into gear if anything goes wrong as out of us four, she’s the only one permanently living in the UK.

Thank you Hester! I hope all will stay quiet on your end.

..Neil and Carrie..

As our tenants requested to move in to our house a bit earlier than we planned, we were looking to get some temporary accommodation for the last 5 weeks before pedaling off!

Neil and Carrie came to the rescue!

Themselves being away in Australia, they offered their home to us to house-sit for the duration we needed a roof over our heads!

It was perfect to be in their house with plenty of space to deal with all the final preparations for our trip!

And I have loved their kitchen and spice cupboards...sorry for messing it all up by putting them all in alphabetical order...

Thank you very much Neil and Carrie for your trust, allowing us invading your home during your absence!

 ..Livia, Shimona, Noel & Partners (my kids)..

Thank you for your consent for me to do something ‘a bit unusual’ for a 57 year old!

You never questioned my desire to do what I’m doing and instead gave it your full support!

I will be ever grateful for this and I am looking forward to seeing you again soon!  

..The unsung Heroes..

And there are many people who have contributed in some way to this adventure.

From passing on tips and tricks for a successful bike trekking adventure, offering accommodation for Rebecca when she is back, making suggestions for the route, offering help in emergencies, or simply just by giving some moral support!

It is all very much appreciated!

..and last but not least..

Rebecca!

Over the years, we’ve done a few unusual things and had adventures before taking us out of our comfort zone!

But this time, it is different!

Whilst we’ve found a way how we could do the long journey to Istanbul together, we now are at some kind of a crossroad.

Whilst you are slowly heading back towards the UK, I am heading in the opposite direction and for the first time in 20 years, we actually do not know when and where we are going to see each other next!

Thank you very much for sharing the last 5,110 km to Istanbul with me and thank you very much for supporting me in going beyond that, trying to do another 14,000 km to Sydney!  

Thank you all!

Family, friend or associate - you all helped to get my dream up and running!