Hi,
I’m Dirk from Newcastle, Australia.
I started cycling in October 2008 and I’m working hard to get fit and put some serious kilometers on the clock. This year, 2009, I want to cycle from Newcastle to Brisbane (800Kms) and next year from Perth to Sydney (4,200Kms) in a bid to raise money for Thamsanqa.
Up until July last year I was smoking close to 40 cigarettes per day and as a computer programmer I’ve spent most of my adult life behind a desk with hardly any exercise. When I started cycling in October, I struggled with a 5Km ride to the office. Now I’ve been 7 months smoke free and the last two Saturdays I’ve cycled 103Kms and 95Kms each, so I am making progress. I also weighed 131Kgs in October and now my weight is between 118 and 121 depending on the time of the week.
My aim is to buy a trailer for my bike and take weekend trips away. As I understand from other cyclists with trailers, they constantly get asked about the trailer at petrol stations and wherever they stop along the road. I also hope to get some sponsors when I do the longer trips and see if I can raise some money for Thamsanqa.
Cycling is my new passion and it is, in fact, all that I think about lately, even though I’m still a newbie. I also love scuba diving, but don’t know when I’ll ever get the opportunity for that again.