What a great shot!

Ian is an extraordinary cycle tourer. On 1 May he’ll start a ride from Canberra to Singapore using those three principles. He’ll journal here on Cycle Blaze.

Yes former President Obama was in town here recently. Disappointed he didn’t call in for a cup of tea. :)

I LOVE the three, short sentences about cycle touring... they're so true.

The Obamas look great in that photo, and I can't even tell it's a wax model of you... it looks so real. ;-)

I'm making my way through the journal, if slowly, and enjoying it so far.

I do have some questions about your Thorn. If you have some time, I'd love to pick your brain. My email is markwbinghamatgmaildotcom.

Thanks Mark. My mum is 93 years old now and still active. Almost every day she gardens, and a couple of weeks ago she even drove herself to the hairdresser!

It IS a beautiful photo, and that is so cool that you used parts for another bike.

Rinaldo it is still a puzzle as to who did the shooting and more so why they did.

My best theory for ‘Why?’ is that the catastrophic Christchurch earthquake and the thousands of aftershocks, not only caused obvious deaths, injuries and massive physical damage to Christchurch. They also caused enormous mental stresses and illnesses in the region. One result of this affect was an increase in antisocial behaviours which included wilfully taking potshots at strangers. There was at least one other example of a shooting from an older style white van. A woman sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Christchurch was shot by a frozen paintball which badly injured her upper arm.

A contributing factor was also NZ’s lax firearm laws which ultimately led to the horrendous mass shooting in Christchurch a few years ago. At the tone I was shot, I told the Hanmer Springs cops that NZ had a major hidden problem with firearms, and their legislation needed fixing. The cop became very defensive. Sadly I was proved correct with ChCh massacre and NZ has now fixed their firearm control laws.

Bottom line is though, yes I was extremely lucky not to be blinded or worse. I’m forever grateful for that.

I remember the incident in New Zealand very well Graham. I shocked me as I had been a regular cycle tourist there and had never encountered such behavior. Very happy to learn the eye recovered well.

I had the privilege of meeting the three amigos as they started out on day 1 and stopped off for a coffee at Yass. They shared their stories and radiated enthusiasm for the task ahead of them. I am delighted to see these pictures and that Ian made it back home in one piece too. Hearty congratulations to you all and enjoy the achievements. Best to you all. Doug

Thanks Scott. It’ll also be interesting to see Ian’s photos. He carries a full sized DSLR and tripod on tour and takes time to capture images en-route.

Greg someone asked if Ian was a clean shaven teenager when he began this very lengthy cycle tour.

Such an inspiration! Great photos too. Thanks for the update, Graham.

I admire Ian's beard too.

A couple months ago I commented on how much I admired that tie he wore at border crossings. Now I have so much more to admire him for. Thanks for that update, Lord Graham. (By the way, I admire you too for completing that entire tour across the Nullarbor.)