• It's very comfortable. This is the armchair of bikes and the very definition of laid back. Doug has a 'classic European' touring configuration, with a 20" front wheel and a 26" rear wheel. One of the great joys of riding recumbents is the lack of pain. No saddle sores, no stiff neck, no sore wrists and no back ache. Bliss.

• It’s very fast going downhill. My current personal record is 81.4kph. This is because recumbents are aerodynamic with a low centre of gravity. With added weight they become increasingly stable. Since I can carry  80L+ of gear and supplies, including as much as 10L+ of water on unsupported rides this is a very useful quality. 

• The view is great.  The position is relaxed and natural, and provides an uninterrupted panoramic of the best nature has to offer. Plus, there is no need for special clothes. An everyday pair of shorts and t-shirt will suffice. Say goodbye to lycra!

• Recumbents are unusual. I have lost count of the number of 'stranger selfies' I've been asked for. Doug starts conversations, people want to sit on him, take photos with him, or just point and stare. We receive beeps and waves on every journey and most of all smiles.

Doug is named in honour of one of Australia's greatest adventurers, Sir Douglas Mawson. 

Mawson was a geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. He was also a contemporary of Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton. In 1912 Mawson lead the ill-fated Australasian Antarctic Expedition. 

Mawson's leadership and heroism when facing the most extreme adversity imaginable is legendary and his ability to think of his fellow man in the most challenging of circumstances still has the capacity to inspire.

There have been countless books, articles and films made about Mawson's exploits. None greater, in my opinion, than "This Accursed Land", by Leonard Bickel.  

"My whole body is apparently rotting from want of proper nourishment—frost-bitten fingertips, festerings, mucous membrane of nose gone, saliva glands of mouth refusing duty, skin coming off the whole body."

Sir Douglas Mawson