ross gray

consistently cycle toured from 1976 - 1989 longest rides being 7 months through Europe, and a 8 month double crossing east - west - east of Australia in which 1 month was spent working in various seasonal jobs most of my tours were usually 2 - 5 months at a time before having to return to work, all my tours were researched and I used an extensive collection of maps,and spending hours in library's, it being before Google and the mainstream internet, ( Asia and South America tours were mostly planned using aviation maps ) no tour / route ever went as planned and changes were made on the spur of the moment depending on people met or just mood, many tourist sites were missed during tours ( grand canyon / ayers rock ) both seen in the distance, and many European tourist sites missed, simply because they were located in large city's which were a hassle to navigate, although I planned to visit many of these places, during the tours their importance faded ( the difference between being on the bike and the planning and anticipation of the journey ) the routes here are sometimes approximate as it wasn't always possible to map the exact route, roads have changed in 30 years :-D 1976 - 1989 cycling became an addiction for me during this period of my life and there were always people to meet and stories to tell ( 4 people I had the honor of encountering and I encourage people to learn of are, - IAN HIBELL - I was lucky enough to be among a few people in a room in CH-CH NZ in 1975 to hear him talking and showing slides of his travels - LOUISE SOUTHERLAND - I met at a camping ground and went bush walking with in Queenstown NZ in 1979 - - MALCOLM LYALL WATSON - whom I encountered at a neighboring bungalow and had 2 enthralling days talking and dining with at Candidasa beach Bali in 1985, and - COLIN FLETCHER - who, after seeing my laden bike, at a supermarket in Tonapah Nevada, chatted to me for a couple of hours while we sat in the carpark )

there are many other undocumented people who each had a influence on me, some of the tour photos at ..... https://www.flickr.com/photos/133084581@N04

and ... https://www.flickr.com/photos/133084581@N04