Cycling has always been a part of my life and I’ve always wanted to go touring. So in 2012, I cycled for two charities (Cancer Society and Cure Kids) and toured the south of the South Island of New Zealand for. With my mother passing away from cancer, these were charities I wanted to support and cycling was a perfect way to do so. After this first tour, I headed back to New Zealand in 2013 to continue exploring, and I headed to the north of the South Island of New Zealand. It was during this tour while heading back down the West Coast that I experienced bad lower back pain, and had great difficulty in even walking let alone cycling. Unbeknown to me my lower discs were bulging, and in April 2020 I had neurosurgery L5/S Posterior Lumbar Inter-body Fusion, and L4/ L5 Lateral Decompression, with eight screws, two plates and two rods!.
I have never been so encapsulated by a country, touring by bike, the history, the music, the raw landscapes, and of course the people. I arrived mid September and finished two months later.
John Doe
Having now had two major spinal surgeries and numerous other operations, I long for so much more. Perhaps cycle touring is the great “seducer”. It is an addiction that becomes you. I am always aware that others are less fortunate as I am. I am so very thankful and blessed I can at least walk and cycle,
Thing You Should Know?
- I tour by bicycle and help others in need
- When on my last day cycling into Rosslare,
- Cycling has always been a part of my life and I’ve always wanted to go touring.
“Our bikes and panniers, and spent close to three months cycling across Morocco, Spain and France, before returning to the UK in June 2016. We had covered close to 10,000 kms, and (for me) 17 countries. What an adventure and such memories of what I thought would have been impossible only a year ago. I again returned to New Zealand where in the very first week I was longing to return to Europe. My spinal issues were settling down and becoming much better, but it was the cycle touring that had helped me. Standing and sitting were not good for me, and it seemed that the only good thing for me was to somehow use my bike as therapy, both physically and mentally
