Time and Training and Perseverance

A Story of Gradual Achievement: Time and Training and Perseverance

Been thinking quite a bit these last few weeks about slow progress in Internet Marketing and how lessons learned on the back of a bicycle might be applied. You see, I have just finished a two week cycling trip from Rockhampton to Gold Cost in Queensland, Australia. Not just any cycling trip but a rather long story about cycling going back some 20 years.

Rockhampton to Gold Coast

Markeri Street in Mermaid Waters, QLD is one of the cross streets that runs at right angles to the Gold Cost beaches and intersects the north-south roads. For everyone other than the people who live on the street it does not mean a lot. It meant a lot for me when I crossed it on my bicycle last week. It goes like this. In 2018, I started a bicycle ride from Gold Coast to Sydney on Markeri Street. In 2019, I cycled from Rockhampton and crossed Markeri Street after 11 days of cycling to complete a leg from Rockhampton to Gold Coast. I can assure it was a very emotional moment for me – it brought to a pinnacle an odyssey that started in 2002 (2001 if one counts Tasmania too).

Cycle Across Australia. Why Not?

I was always a keen cyclist and was just getting back to cycling when I arrived in Australia from UK in 2000. I always remember the fun times my friend, Alon, and I had when we cycled at the end of our university exams (1980) in Cape Town from Stellenbosch to Plettenberg Bay and back through the mountains to end in Paarl. 10 days of cycling adventure and times of peace. We did not know what we could and could not do.

In 2002, I saw a small 5 line advertisement in a cycling magazine – Cycle Across Oz: Melbourne to Perth to Melbourne. I made the phone call and booked to ride from Perth to Melbourne, some 4,500 kms and 5 weeks of time. The longest I had ridden in a day was 120 kms (on that tour in South Africa). I did not know what I could and could not do. The first day over 120 kms was tough (into the wind did not help). Backing up to do several 160 km days in a row was new too. Extending out to 185 kms in a day was a stretch. And the wind blew every day into our faces for 12 consecutive days without let up. Completing 160 kms in a day when temperatures rocketed to touch 42C was new too – only 3 riders finished 160 kms that day. When I crossed the Flinders Street Bridge in Melbourne, I was over the moon BUT I was also saying to myself = not doing that again. Too mind-numbing for words. 18 months later phone rings. My friend, Collis, organiser of Cycle Across Oz, says

“We are doing Perth to Melbourne again. Want to come?”.

“What is the start date?” “One month earlier. Winds will be better”

I went. The winds were better. The 90 mile straight on the Nullarbor Plain took something like 6 or 7 hours of riding rather than the 14 it had taken two years before. I was hooked.

Introduction to Endurance Cycling

A few other hooks arrived along the way. I rode the Audax Alpine Classic with my cycling group. This is a 200 kms timed event in the Victorian Alps. The temperatures sky rocketed too with 42C recorded in the town of Bright as I passed through with 70 kms round trip up Mt Buffalo to come. I finished with 20 minutes to spare. The crowds spurred me on the way through Porepunkah and into the town of Bright. Only 20% finished and the event now has a compulsory 38C cutoff in Bright. I was introduced to a keen endurance cyclist not long after and started doing more randonneuring (Audax in Australia and UK) rides with a view to riding Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP), the pinnacle of randonneuring, a 1200 km event to be completed in 90 hours.

A Little More Loaded Touring

2006 was a big year too. Cycle Across Oz ran a Darwin to Adelaide ride which has to be one of my favourites across Australia. Nice towns. Great scenery. Lots of variety. My friends, Dave and Jo rode that and invited me to join them on a loaded tour of South Western Western Australia – Perth to Margaret River to Albany and back. I was planning on riding Perth Albany Perth 1200 km Audax event that year but we did not get back in time. We were having too much fun starting out each day based mostly on which way the wind was blowing. Qualification for PBP required completing a Super Randonneur Series, 200, 300, 400, 600 kms in a 6 month period starting in November. We rode 3 of those legs in November itself and I was well onto my way to qualify for PBP before the cutoff date. One of those rides filled in a section between Sydney and Newcastle which becomes key to the story a little later. I did ride PBP in 2007 though I did not finish with a lot of knee trouble but more importantly spending a lot of time helping a friend, Tony, who was struggling with bronchitis. His safety and my knees and a tour of the Mosel and Rhine afterwards were more important to me.

Crossing the Top End and More West Coast

It took a little while to get back to riding across Australia with Cycle Across Oz taking a bit of a break. So in early 2008, I cycled the South Island of New Zealand with Dave and Jo. I followed that up with a short tour from Newcastle up the coast to Taree – a first piece in the East Coast puzzle. 2009 phone call from Cycle Across Oz was Rockhampton to Darwin, across the Top End. I went. The Audax aficionados were riding at 4 am – not me. 2011 was a trip down the West Coast of Australia from Broome to Perth – that gives me the whole of the West Coast with the South West Corner done in 2006 all the way to Augusta down south. 2013 phone call was a little different. This time Cycle Across Oz are planning a circumnavigation starting in Melbourne. My ears prick up – maybe, just maybe I could do the circle. But 6 months is a big time commitment especially as I had just remarried and I did not want to ride the planned Inland Way route from Melbourne to Cairns. So I signed up to do Darwin to Perth to fill in the ride across the Top End. As it happens, I rode Darwin to Coral Bay choosing to leave the tour a little early to give my head some peace. But what that did do was complete the ride across the Top End. That leaves only the East Coast for a circumnavigation. This 2011 trip was important for a different reason – Cycle Across Oz introduced a charity partner. So many people ask if we are riding for charity – why not do it? We all rode for Freedom Wheels who modify bikes for disabled children – life saving stuff for the kids. I have ridden for charity ever since raising most of the funds by email and social media. In fact, in 2019 my fund raising from cycling challenges topped $20,000.

Closing the East – West Circle

Cycle Across Oz planned a trip down the Murray River from close to the source to the mouth, south of Adelaide for 2014. I decided to use that as a chance to close a section of the loop – cycle from Sydney to Adelaide which meant doing a section unsupported to get to the the start in Tintaldra and at the end to get from Murray Bridge to Adelaide. I started from Moss Vale (train to get there) but one of my 2006 Audax rides did take me all the way up the Hume Highway to Marulan which means I had cycled that bit along the journey thus far. The seed was firmly planted to complete a circumnavigation. Not long after finishing that ride one of my 2004 Perth to Melbourne companions was planning a Melbourne to Sydney ride with a bunch of his friends. They were doing a more inland route from Eden via Canberra and he wanted to do the coast. I said I would join him and caught a bus down to Bermagui and we cycled back to the heart of Sydney together, again unsupported. That gives me Bermagui to Taree covered on the East Coast.

The next 2015 Cycle Across Oz ride was a big loop of Australia covering the Murray River, going up the centre and then across the top to the West Coast and returning to Melbourne – nah – done most of that already. I turned my head to Europe and did the circumnavigation of Nederland in 2016 and a huge circuit of Germany and Czech Republic in 2017.

East Coast: Gold Coast Towards Sydney

The Commonwealth Games 2018 were run on the Gold Coast in Queensland. I was keen to attend a few events. Why not go and then cycle back to Sydney – gives me one more leg down the East Coast? I even convinced myself that it was a leg across Australia = a little cheeky as it is just over one third of the East Coast. Well that plan worked a treat and I cycled from Markeri Street, Mermaid Waters all the way to Bateau Bay on the Central Coast. I was going to ride all the way home but decided to ask my wife to come up and meet me for a nice weekend away at the beach. You will recall that I did do one of my PBP qualifying rides all the way from Sydney to Singleton and turning back South in Raymond Terrace, just north of Newcastle. I passed that point on the way down when I cycled into Stockton from Port Stephens. On that Gold Coast ride I was passed by a young Englishman, Jonny, who was riding from Cairns to Sydney. His trip had been a little off the beaten track and it sounded like it was doable – that said, Jonny is 25 and I am 63.

Finishing the East Coast

2019 planning did turn to doing what Jonny had done – Cooktown in Far North Queensland to Coolangatta, where Gold Coast Airport is,  was in my mind. The front end of that through the Atherton Tablelands is quiet enough. There is a long section on Bruce Highway after Cairns which is rated the most dangerous road in the country = not keen to do that. And still not keen to do the Inland Way. Well, I did start the 2009 Top End ride from Rockhampton, why not start from there? I found a website laying out a safer inland route from Brisbane to Mackay – I could use that. Plan made for 2019, travel to Gold Coast for a weekend away with my wife. Catch a train to Rockhampton and cycle back following Australia’s Country Way, mostly along the Burnett Highway and avoiding Bruce Highway totally.

And that is exactly what I did. Crossing Markeri Street was hugely emotional. I can recall my headmaster saying I would never be much of anything at sport. Wrong, Sir. I played 3rd grade squash. I played 3rd grade field hockey. AND I rode a circumnavigation and a figure 8 of Australia on a bicycle.

Missing Bits: Is It A Circumnavigation?

Now the purists might argue that I have not really done a circumnavigation because I have not joined up the bits from Melbourne to Bermagui on New South Wales South Coast. For example, a lady I met this trip argued that Perth to Melbourne is not a ride across Australia. The fact that it is longer than Perth to Sydney is neither here nor there. And what about Tasmania? As it happens I have cycled the whole length of Tasmania from Launceston to Hobart in 2001, my first Australian adventure, and from Hobart to the southern tip in 2009. Maybe one day I will fill in the gap in Victoria, I have done quite a bit of it already.  You decide. Here is a map highlighting the bits I have done – it looks all joined up to me.

Time and Training and Perseverance

The big question is how does one do something like this. You can do it as a plan like the riders who rode with Cycle Across Oz did in 2013 and 2015 or some other way.

1. For me it started with a passion for cycling. I love the freedom and the wide open spaces.
2. It takes time and training and perseverance. The only way you will know if you can do it is to try. Then find ways to keep oneself interested. I write a journal. I am always looking for things to write about or for things my readers are interested in. I am a photographer. I am always framing photos. Some people listen to music – not me.
3. It takes motivation. The challenge of doing a point to point ride is a big motivator. You said get to the other side – get there. The challenge of knocking off 100 kms, 200 kms, 300 kms, 400 kms, 600 kms with or without a set time limit is a big motivator. Audax riding helped enormously with that – including riding at night.
4. Riding in a group is a big motivator. I drew massively on the support of a few riders along the way especially on those early trips across Australia. Thanks to Greg Warwick, Dave and Jo Whitney, Woody Graham, Richard Franks, Steven McClure (RIP mate), Phil Jones, and Karen Ward for keeping me going and teaching me lots of tricks. I do not need to ride in a group anymore – in fact, I prefer not to.
5. Riding for charity is a big motivator. Find a cause that means something to you and ride for them – the kids that Children’s Medical Research Institute and TADVIC/NSW support work for me.
6. Stay in tune with your body and mind. Listen to every change and make sure your equipment is helping and not hindering. Preparation and training are key early on – the more one does, the more leeway one has in being under-prepared at the start of a ride. I just rode 1,000 kms in 11 days of riding with only 240 kms of training – not quite 15 hours of training. I could not have done that in 2002.

Riding for Charity

Choosing a charity is all about finding things that relate to you and to the people who support you. Everyone loves kids – that is why I support charities for kids. Children are our future and we do well to take care of them. On kids cancer,  I like to think that we have a better chance of understanding cancer if we can understand how it affects children. After all, they have had a lot less time to have been exposed to the things that come from the environment and from the pressures of life (genetics aside). If we understand that better, we have a better chance of working out preventative measures – and that is what my whole philosophy on medicine is. Find the cause. Remove the cause. No need for intervention. Not all my followers are keen on cancer research – many are opposed. That is why I support at least two charities in every campaign – hence support for Freedom Wheels too.

Great Cycle Challenge for Kids Cancer

In my last post, I talked about doing 3 things. I know I did one. I have just completed my 6th challenge for Kids Cancer. Why support Great Cycle Challenge every year? The support organisation is great. The tools to help with marketing are great and growing every year and most importantly it has become an amazing community supporting and motivating each other. My post on the GCC Friends Facebook group page about crossing Markeri Street has gathered just shy of 200 likes which is more than 10% of the 1777 members of the group.

Lastly, my community of supporters are getting to know what I support and they step up each year to help the cause (and to keep me going). Last point is a focused month long challenge helps to build momentum. I find that every time I email my list (of about 1300 people), I get 2 or 3 donations. Just keep emailing and I will get to the normal tally of 50 to 60 donations. That works less well for a one off event.

Applied to Internet Marketing

Now you might wonder how this relates to the life of an Internet Marketer. Well it is certainly possible to combine the life of a touring cyclist and an Internet Marketer. I did make some sales while I was on the road from campaigns I set off while I was away. I also made some sales from automated processes that were running in the background all the time I was away. My Internet Marketing journey has felt a little like the whole story of building to a circumnavigation of Australia. I did not start out with that as a goal – I just wanted to ride across Australia.

When I started Internet Marketing I just wanted to start generating some passive income. I was not intent on building out a big business and I was not really ready to commit to it being something of a full time activity. As each day went by on my current trip, I got to thinking about the time-reward functions on what I have been doing over the last few years. The time I spend on investing activity is central to my future – that is my main job and the main way I make money. Now I can tailor the time I spend quite a bit by moving to a less active investing style with longer time frames than I have been doing = more longer term investing and less trading. I have invested a lot of time in writing up my investing blogs – say 2 to 3 hours every single day that I make trades for over 480 blog posts now. That has helped to improve my investing enormously – not sure I could measure the impact. What I do know that the pure blogging returns from Steemit.com rewards have not been proportionate to the time I spend. Each post earns somewhere between $0.50 and $3.20 before I spend anything on promotions. The recent change in the rewards model have reduced the returns from promotions dramatically. Any good investor understands the balance between time and returns – time to re-balance this.

Put in More Time and Training and Perseverance

The conclusion is my Internet Marketing is going to do a whole lot better if I can allocate more time to it. That time will come from reducing the time spent on investing blogging and applying those 2 to 3 hours every day on Internet Marketing in a much more focused way. Just like the circumnavigation story, I have a lot of the pieces in place for the Internet Marketing circumnavigation. I know what products I am supporting. I have a set of tools that are working. I have access to great training to fill in the gaps in my skill sets. Now I just need to put in the time just like preparing for and executing a cycling circumnavigation leg – time and training and perseverance.

Resources

Charity Fund Raising: I made a video about how I raised over $17,000 over 8 cycling campaigns using Internet Marketing techniques.  Grab that here

My Charities:  Support my causes through these links. Kids Cancer and Freedom Wheels

Cycle Across Australia: Cycle Across Oz is running a 2020 tour going from Melbourne to Sydney along the coast (I could fill in that missing leg) and a return leg from Sydney to Melbourne along an inland route including some of the Murray River.  Check out the website at Cycle Across Oz

Journals:  I write up my journals on Crazyguyonabike.com – not all of them are complete. Read the latest on on Rockhampton to Gold Coast. To find the others just click on my name in there and you will find the list there.

Investing Blogs: I write up my investing blogs on Steemit.com – a crytpocurrency based blogging platform. Get paid to blog. Find my blogs at Steemit.com or under the Investing Blogs tab on the menus above