Do you remember the amazing feeling of freedom the first time you mastered the balance and coordination needed to roll away from the person holding your saddle? The joy of being independent and being able to reach farther and farther into the unknown? For me bike touring has allowed that intrepid feeling to endure.

My first taste of cycle touring came in the summer of 1996 when my old school friend Mike proposed a summer holiday on two wheels. We were young, foolish, and woefully unprepared. On our first bike tour together, we traversed Ireland, with little idea of what we were doing. Our bikes took us on an unexpected adventure that unbeknownst to us would result in Mike introducing me to his rather delightful cousin who is now, many years later, my wife and mother of our four sons! 

After many separate adventures, the onset of middle age and the lessons of the covid-19 pandemic prompted Mike and I to get back on the road together. In July 2022 we rode nearly 4000km through the middle of Australia. Starting in tropical Darwin before travelling through some of the most remote and arid areas of the driest continent on Earth before finishing in chilly Melbourne. In the process, thanks to the generosity of family, friends and colleagues we raised enough money for World Bicycle Relief to provide 63 purpose-built Buffalo bikes to families in low-income countries.

This epic adventure provided the impetus to cycle both coasts of peninsular Malaysia, in the first instance as a test ride in advance of our Australian adventure, and in the second with my eldest son, Killian, as some father-son bonding time and an exploration of our country of residence. 

In April 2024, more through luck than judgment, I found out I had a mass in my lung.  The location of the mass made doing an accurate biopsy very difficult and ultimately the results were inconclusive, however, other indicators pointed towards a malignancy. As such my wife and I were faced with a difficult choice, do we elect to remove a mass and surrounding tissue, and possibly the entire lower lobe of my right lung or do we attempt a second biopsy in the hope that we would be able to make a more informed decision and possibly avoid a significant surgery? In the end, with the help of a very experienced cardiothoracic surgeon, I elected to go under the knife. The mass was indeed cancerous, and it proved necessary to remove the entirety of the lower right lobe. Remarkably, because of the nature of the cancer, the procedure was considered curative, albeit with the caveat that I now have to undergo an occasional PET scan. Thankfully, I am well on the way to recovery with a renewed appreciation for both good health and access to good quality health care.

Planning for the next adventure is now underway with my second eldest son Lorcan and Australia beckons once more. Armed with a little more knowledge, lots more grey hairs and 25% less lung tissue it is time to introduce a new numpty to the world of bike touring. We also hope to raise awareness of the benefits of early diagnosis and effective treatment of lung cancers in conjunction with the Lung Cancer Network Malaysia. Lung cancer remains the deadliest of 14 major cancer types in Malaysia, but positive outcomes are possible. 

Stay shiny side up!

David, June 2024