Grum Frith - Joining the Dots New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia

First published 2020

by Grum Goes Global

Copyright 2020 Graham Frith

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrival systems, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.

ISBN: 978-0-473-55939-7
ISBN: 978-0-473-57030-9 (e-book)

Published in Hanmer Springs, Aotearoa New Zealand

www.facebook.com/Grum-Goes-Global

Dedication

This amazing adventure and book would not have been the same without the assistance, support, and encouragement of so many, too many to list. My thanks go out to you all.

Special thanks to:

My wonderful wife Juliet, for allowing me the 900 days, for inspiring me to ride to the next destination so I could meet her, for being available at all hours to listen to a tired, lonely husband, camped under a bush in far off lands, and providing support in so many ways. Love you always.

My children, Lisa and Paul, and their families.

Janie & all Juliets work mates, friends and family for looking after her while I was away.

Verdon Kelliher.

The Cowie Family.

The Test of Time.

Kevin for building my bikes.

My friends who told me I was frigging crazy, or You cant do that (you inspired me to prove you wrong).

All my hosts in 41 countries.

All those that joined me on the road on their bicycles, whether for just a few minutes, or for many long kilometers.

All those that read my blogs and sent me messages of support & encouragement.

All those that waved, shouted greetings, or joined me for selfies.

All those who have constantly nagged me to get my book written and Therese from KingFisher Publishing for leading me through the hurdles of producing a book.

And Fiona, you truly are a princess.

Thank also for the support of:

Hiking New Zealand - Bivouac Outdoors - First Training - Canteen NZ - Canteen Australia - Prostrate Cancer Awareness - Lions Clubs of Australia and New Zealand

Intro

This trip was always intended to be a journey of joining the dots. Cycling from places I have been before, to places Ive never been. Revisiting special places, and finding new special places. Seeing for myself what others have talked about, places that previously Ive only seen from 30,000 feet, places Ive read about, or dreamed of visiting. The initial plan involved visiting 64 countries over four years and eight months. Ju said it was too long. Cut it in half.

So, there I was, on a 900 day, 50,000km adventure, joining the dots in 41 countries.

Why?

Ive flown several times around the world, and each time Ive looked below and wondered: Who lives there? What language do they speak? What is their life like, their religion? What does their money look like, their homes?

At 61 years old I am almost the oldest male in my family ever. My uncle died at 54, my grandfather at 59, and my father at 65. There is still so much I want to see and do, and time could very possibly be getting short.

All my working life I have challenged others. Now I needed my own challenge. I dont like heights, so climbing Mt Everest was out. I get seasick, so paddling or rowing across the Atlantic was out. Why not cycling a loop around the globe?

When I told my mates my plan they told me I was Feeking MAD, and there was no way I could do it.

How?

Juliet, my lovely wife, has been working for years to improve her education, after deciding that she wanted to get a degree. She chose to become a paramedic and worked extremely hard over several years to achieve her dream job on the Westpac Rescue Helicopter team.

While she was studying, we often missed out on adventures we might have had together, so when she finally achieved her goaland being such a wonderful, caring wifeshe suggested it was my turn to follow my dream, to have my adventure. Yippee, I began planning.

After some months of sorting through maps, planning routes, and guessing times, I approached her with my plan. I want to cycle around the world.

Okay. How long will it take, and when will you leave?

Im going to cycle out of Melbourne on the 1st July 2014 and get back mid-August 2018. Just over four years.

Thats too long. Cut it in half.

Woohoo. I had 900 days of adventure coming my way.

We were already hosts for Warmshowers, an international organisation that hosts Cycle Tourers, so we met lots of people to quiz about cycle touring. My mate, Kevin, had recently built me a Surly Karate Monkey Mountain bike. We had all sorts of outdoor gear. I just needed to get it in some sort of order. Winter of 2013 I took off for a lap around the North Island. I needed to know whether I had the correct gearand more importantly, did I enjoy cycling for such a long time? I LOVED IT.

Refinement of the gear followed, and Kevin built me a new bike, with a few more places for bits and bobs to be attached. This time it was a Surly Ogre, a beautiful green machine, and her name popped into my head, just like a newborn childs name doesFiona. She was going to be my one constant companion for the duration of the adventure.

Books I had read about this type of adventure all had a cause, partly to deflect the hes a nutter comments. I decided on Prostrate Cancer Awareness, and Canteen (an organisation that supports teenagers coping with cancer).

My son Paul and daughter Lisa gave me their blessing. We worked together to set up a website and a Facebook page, and we gave the adventure a name: Grum Goes Global.

I had my route, I had my leave pass, I had my trusty steed, and I had my causes. My adventure waited.

ABOUT GRUM

A love of the outdoors and sharing that with people has taken Grum hiking, mountain biking, orienteering, rafting, and kayaking all over the world. Grum left his real job in 1986 and began working in the outdoors full time. Since then, he has owned his own Outdoor Pursuits business, managed an Outdoor Education Centre for a Trust, drifted into event organizing and producing loadsa adventure races, as well as musical and drama events, taught First Aid, and guided rafting, kayaking, canoeing, mountain biking and hiking in New Zealand and overseas.

Grum enjoys challenging others and encouraging them to grow their skills and to follow their dreams. Since 2000 he has guided a mountain bike trip in Tibet, had a quick look at guiding in the deserts of Australia, and has been guiding for Hiking New Zealand. He also challenges himself by going on adventures in remote forgotten lands (Kazakhstan, Nepal,) His passion, is however, still teaching and ensuring that people enjoy themselves safely in the outdoors. He loves exploring new places along with his beautiful wife Juliet and is excited about the upcoming adventure of biking around the world.

Having convinced Juliet that the lap of the globe adventure was a good idea, he needed to check that he was up to it, that he actually enjoyed cycle touring, and that he had the right gear. Hence, a lap of the North Island, in winter of 2013 on his trusty Surly Karate Monkey, towing version one of his specially built trailer, and on the way, he could spread the word of Prostate Cancer Awareness.