The Grey Lynn boys have made it to Europe and raised over $15,000 for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ.
Though we'd flirted with the Indian winter, it wasn't until Georgia where we experienced true hardship as a result of the weather. Sicknesses lingered, and our departure from Tbilisi was delayed, with the day of reckoning conveniently being the coldest day in Georgia for the year. As we rode into the thick blanket of fog, our sweat began to freeze, Sean's back began to spasm and snow began to fall. On day four we were forced to turn back, having ignored warnings from locals that the road was impassable. They were right. After pushing our 50kg bikes a kilometre through ankle deep snow, the remaining 9km to the summit 500m above seemed implausible.
It was during moments like these that we dreamed of the European summer. Being mid-March at that point, it didn't seem all too far, but the weather proved otherwise. Our ride through Turkey exposed us to some of the most amazing hospitality we've experienced, at the end of long days charging into a relentlessly powerful headwind. Our morale would be sapped, only to be revitalised by a random act of kindness, or a friendly local opening their home for us to spend the night.
We have since arrived in Europe, having crossed the Bosphorus Bridge that connects Europe to Asia, and find ourselves with just one month left before our arrival in London on 28 July. The European summer has been all we ever dreamed of on those cold dark days in Georgia and Turkey, but it's trying moments like those that help build resilience, and allow us to wholly appreciate the moment.
We have ridden 20,000km to date, and raised over $15,000 for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ, but would love to fulfil our $1 per kilometre target that we set ourselves before we left in May 2017. So please follow the link below, to make a donation and help us achieve our goal. (ARTHUR GILLIES)