Ride fat boy ride

Ride Blog 1

So, my New Year’s resolution this year was to get my ass fit. For the last five years, I’ve done little to no exercise on a regular basis. That combined with working on my ass all day and playing MMO games at night has led to a very unhealthy existence. And on top of all that, I’ve had to

 deal with a spin disorder called Ankylosing Spondylitis, just to ensure that if I do try and move too quick, or get up early and exercise; I get pain as a reward!

My father recently approached me with something which was enough to get me motivated. He told me about a ride him and his new wife are doing to raise money and awareness for the Polio Plus foundation. Our good buddie Mr Bill Gates, who 

keeps me on my ass solving compatibility issues with his brilliant operating systems, decided to set Rotary International up with a challenge. Gates has donated US$125 million to the project and will donate an additional US$100 million if Rotary raises US$100 million as well.

Polio was a disease that crippled whole populations during the 1950’s and 1960’s. In most countries, it has effectively been wiped out with an oral vaccine but there’s still work to be done in countries like India. The number of reported cases is dropping each year but with more funding, polio can be completely annihilated.

Polio is an acute viral infection which attacks the nerves and muscles, disfiguring limbs and spines, and crippling those inflicted. I might complain about my back condition, but that’s nothing compared to polio.

Over the last couple of years I have got to spend some time in India. Seeing first hand what this disease can do was enough to make me realize that I could do more with my privileged life and also help these people at the same time. The only catch is, I have to ride 500 kilometres (270 miles) to raise the money! That’s not riding on a motorbike, that’s an old-school push bike and it’s not going to be down hill on a flat surface either. The track over cross country involves several days of hill riding.

Me starting training. Don't laugh too hard at the bike shorts!

The journey will start on Saturday 21 March in Shepparton (Victoria, Australia). We then ride for 108 km (67.11 miles) to Heathcote. Day two we head to Kyneton which is 58 km (31.31 miles). Then about the same on the third day where we’ll stay overnight at Ballan. The fourth day steps up the pace with 73 km (45 miles) to Geelong. And finally on the fifth day it’s a whopping 98 km (60 miles) along the Bellarine Peninsula. Oh … what have I signed up for?!!!

Let me get something straight: I am not an expert bike rider, or at least I have’t been for at least ten years. Riding 20-30 km is not an easy task for me. So this is not going to be a walk in the park what so ever! It’s going to take a lot of preparation over the next six weeks.

Doing this type of thing for myself has never been enough motivation. Now that I’m doing it for the Polio Plus foundation, and to help Rotary get that extra 100 million out of Mr Gates, I’ve got the determination and drive to do this. But obviously the main point of this ride is to raise money. This is where I am hoping our readers and the tech community can help out.

What I intend on doing on the ride is to track our daily events and blog about the adventure. I’ll also blog about my preparation for the ride and all the gadgets I will be taking with me.

Keep up with my ride here at http://johngatt.blogspot.com/