Fundraising
When I visited the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra I met Richard Callaghan and his science team, who are funded by Worldwide Cancer Research (formerly AICR). This footage is taken from the evening WIN NEWS CANBERRA, covering not only my expedition (and ride through the campus), but information on cancer research in Australia. Enjoy!
This video by the Australian National University (ANU) documents both my visit to the Canberra campus as well as the fantastic AICR funded research being conducted by Richard Callaghan and his team. Thankfully ANU’s staff are much better at video making than myself, so by watching the short video you will be able to see footage from the road while listening to both myself and Richard Callaghan. Enjoy!
It”s now just ten or so days until I finish my charity expedition, and to say I’m nervous is a massive understatement. The constant anxiety is making sleep at best sporadic, and during the days I’m trying hard to focus on enjoying the adventures of the road. And really, its hard to imagine a better ride than in the state of Victoria…
Things are different up in the North End. On my first day in Darwin I was standing near the PM welcoming home troops from Afghanistan, then soon afterwards I was holding a crocodile! After over three years abroad, it was strange being around so many Aussies and it took a good few days to adjust! My parents had driven over 3000km from Sydney to welcome me back at the airport, and it was fantastic to catchup and stay with my cousin Larissa and her family for the week.
It didn’t take long for us to get out on the Adelaide River to feed the crocs, as well as check out the huge termite mounds…
Today was my second Christmas on the road, and to celebrate I decided to do something somewhat festive. Ridiculous yes, but it invited endless delightful calls of “Ho Ho Ho” and “Merry Christmas” from both the streets and car windows! It was tough going wearing a thick Santa costume in this sticky tropical heat, and at times the 75km loop of the island felt like it was never going to end. Afterall, isn’t Christmas day meant to be about eating and opening presents? Anyways, despite looking a little silly I felt quite comfortable compared to the flamboyantly decorated Wilson who found himself engulfed in sparkling tinsel and a Christmas tree on his back pannier…
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported my year on the bike and made a donation to AICR. My charity adventure has now raised about eleven thousand pounds, which goes towards financing fundamental scientific research into the causes of cancer. They are currently supporting the work of more than 165 scientists in 19 countries, or in excess of 166 projects in over 98 of the world’s top scientific establishments. So I think both the donors and the fabulous AICR Team deserve a very Merry Xmas and Happy New Years!
Dear all,
Approximately 10 months ago Chris Gruar – a lovely, clean shaven man left the UK on a mission to cycle to Australia to raise money for the Association of International Cancer Research (AICR).
Said man now has a VERY hairy beard attached to his face!! He resembles a human-gorilla hybrid, a Yeti-Man.
We propose that if we raise £500 within 30 days, Chris should by default be FORCED to shave of his beard!!
Please help free Chris’ face by donating to his fundraising page (remember to make reference to the beard)
>> www.justgiving.com/chriscycling4cancer <<
Please also like, comment on and share this page to help convince Chris to SHAVE!!!!!
Written by Ollie and Jon (who have hijacked Chris’ blog to bring you this important public announcement)
A close shave in Vanadzor, Armenia
Thank you to everyone who donated on my JustGiving page to convince me to shave! As many of you have now heard, I was robbed and beaten last week in Armenia. During the evening I found it very difficult to initially get help looking like a homeless vagabond. So after countless interviews and a trip to the hospital, the police officer in charge of the case kindly took me to a local barber. The picture on the wall is the Armenian national hero Andranik Ozanian. Anyways while the police are cataloging and valuing all of my stolen gear I have the next few days off in the capital Yerevan. I’ll give you all details of this shocking crime in my next post…
Wilson, my noble stead who has taken me 14, 000 kilometres throughout Europe, has sadly got himself a fatal injury. Over the years the road has been treacherous and demanding for us both, travelling along potholed and gravel tracks, sinking sand dunes, epic mountains, sliding through icy and snowy tarmac, withstood all kinds of ferocious weather, dodged careless drivers, and crashed multiple times into unseen cars or animals. The bike has taken me across most European countries on various trips, totalling well over 20, 000 kilometres. But all things unfortunately come to an end…
This week in Greece, as I slogged up the famous mountain slopes beside Thermopylae, I heard a distinct break in the bike as I pushed down on the pedals. I quickly unclipped the bags and flipped Wilson on his back, wiped away the sweat that was dripping into my eyes, and discovered … nothing! So I rode on, but with each descent I felt more unstable, almost as if the frame was bending below me! I reduced myself to a slow speed and waited for the expertise of a bike shop. By the time I reached Patra, as I prepared the bike to enter my couchsurfing hosts car, I saw the fatal break in the aluminium frame of Wilson. At the rear dropout, where the back wheel joins the frame, a five millimetre gap had distinctively emerged to potentially shatter my adventure. It was a true miracle that I had even arrived in Patras, and within just kilometres the bike could no longer be ridden safely.
First of all, a big thank you to everyone who has helped me to reach 75% of my fundraising target. So far I’ve been on the road for over six months, bringing countless challenges to overcome and endure (my latest challenge came this morning in Kosovo with my first case of diarrhea, and adjusting to using squat toilets with no toilet paper!). This week I’ve also traversed northern Albania, with constant steep gradients to climb up, followed by many sketchy descents weaving between the numerous landslides.
Earlier this week I featured in the online Runtastic blog, a company who focuses on ‘building its own ecosystem in health and fitness with both indoor and outdoor fitness apps, its own online community and fitness hardware’. Runtastic have developed some fabulous apps that promote exercise and encourage regular fitness in our hectic lives. Predictably, my favorite is the Runtastic Roadbike app, which integrates heart rate, cadence, and speed sensors to track your ride!
To have a read of my interview just click Cycling Against Cancer – Chris Gruar on his Charity Trip from England to Australia. In the interview I share some of my experiences from the road over the past six months, and give some insight into the immense challenges of cycle touring alone through a diverse range of European countries.
