Lindsay Gault, at home in Ōtaki, will be cycling from China to Greece. Photo / David Haxton
Lindsay Gault, at home in Ōtaki, will be cycling from China to Greece. Photo / David Haxton
An Ōtaki man is ready to bicycle a staggering 11,000km from China to Greece to raise money for cancer research.
Lindsay Gault, 70, who starts the adventure this month, has spent about 18 months planning for it as well as a lot of cycle training each week.
He hopes people will donate money via his website, which will go to the Cancer Society New Zealand, and will give talks to various groups as well as a fundraising dinner when he’s back to raise more funds.
He’s reached out to about 100 businesses to try and get commercial sponsorship but hasn’t been successful.
“I’ve had two responses who were interested but not prepared to commit.”
The self-funded trip will take about six months and take him from Jinzhou in the Liaoning Province of China and through to Athens in Greece.
A lot of the ride follows the ancient Silk Road trade route through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Gault said the logistics for the upcoming ride involved working out the route, and border crossings, ensuring supply points that weren’t too far apart, and getting visas.
He’s also organised a separate event in Mongolia, a 1000km bike-packing event, to raise funds for the National Cancer Council, after he learnt the country had high cancer rates.
“I’ve still got a whole page of to-dos mostly on the electronic side because I have to load my GPS maps.”
Gault will be riding a steel-framed Surly mountainbike with pannier bags to carry everything from spare parts, tent, sleeping bag, food, clothing, and more.
“I’m pretty much self-contained.”
Lindsay Gault during a training ride.
He will carry an emergency position-indicating radio beacon so he will know exactly where he is every 10 minutes and others including his wife and children will know too.
“It also allows me to message out.”
Gault envisioned various challenges from ensuring he had enough food between remote supply points to an altitude where about half a dozen mountain passes over 4000m needed to be tackled.
“I’ve got some altitude tablets from my doctor.”
So how is he feeling with not long to go?
“It’s mostly excitement but there’s a fair bit of nervousness until I get on the road.”
Being my age, I’m constantly discovering friends being diagnosed with cancer and suffering from it.
He said the language barrier could be challenging.
“I’ve got a book of pictures of everything I’m likely to need.”
Gault isn’t a novice to long-distance bike rides.
When he left the IT industry, he decided to ride across Africa, in 2010, which found he enjoyed the remoteness, reflection time, beauty of places, and meeting people.
Since then he’s combined his love of adventure riding with raising funds for the Cancer Society as well as raising awareness of early intervention.
He’s cycled the entire South Island, gone from the Arctic down and through Canada, and right across the Red Centre of Australia’s desert from Albany via Alice Springs to Rockhampton.
“When I started doing these bike rides, I was past his age, so I had this sense that he missed out on all this time of his life.
“But as I was preparing for the Canada trip my sister and my sister-in-law were diagnosed with breast cancer.
“My sister had got early detection whereas my sister-in-law had left it and ignored the symptoms and it had gone into her spine and she didn’t make it.
“And being my age, I’m constantly discovering friends being diagnosed with cancer and suffering from it.
“There are so many good causes but cancer is one I decided to pick up.”
To make a donation or keep up to date with Gault’s journey go to his website.
