I’m on a mission to defeat cancer.

200 kilometres on a penny farthing!  2024 was so good, I'm back for '25 (actually it was a bit of a tough grind but I'm prepared to give it another crack this year).   

There isn’t a single person I know that hasn’t been touched by cancer.  I received a cancer diagnosis late in 2021, it came as an awful blow to someone who enjoys a healthy lifestyle.  I was determined to regain a semblance of the health I enjoyed prior to my diagnosis and treatment (spoiler alert, I got there).      

I first participated in the MACA Cancer 200 (then the Ride to Conquer Cancer) in 2018 I had a fantastic time with mates and encouraging other riders along the way.  Riding the course on my penny farting was merely a bonus.  Back then, fit and strong, I had no idea of what lay ahead of me in terms of my health. 

On learning I had cancer, I didn’t go through the typical stages of grief, I skipped denial and went straight to anger – why me? Then to acceptance – why not me?  Accepting the condition is a power tool for fighting the disease.  So too was my desire to regain my health and fitness.    

By the middle of 2022 I was back on the bike (much to the consternation of my surgeon).  In October I entered the Cancer 200, flying the yellow flag of the cancer survivor.  Naturally, I was on my penny farthing.  In going into that ride, I was very much undercooked so it was a tough one.  Fatigue and exhaustion took me to some dark places, it wasn't pretty but I finished the event.  

2024 was much better but griding against a south-westerly for hour after hour on the single-speed, fixed wheel penny farthing was a tough gig.  Ten hours in the saddle saw me arrive at Mandurah on Day one barely able to stand up.  What's not to love about that?