Madmen & Englishmen . . . Yip thats Jo on his big adventure cycling from Canterbury UK to the Opera House

Mad Dogs Men and English Men

Meet Josiah Skeats from Canterbury in the UK

The sun is shining on the Gold Coast. I’m sitting here facing the beach with my bike lent against a tree. I used to think bikes could take you anywhere in the world. Now I know they can take you anywhere in the world.

My journey began in May 2015. I kissed my friends and family ‘Good Bye’ and pedalled out of my front door in search of adventure. Adventure found me quickly, and after only a few kilometres, I had a puncture. The spare tubes I’d brought turned out to be the wrong size, so I tried to mend the tube myself, but I couldn’t get the patch to stick. I was forced to ask a passing cyclist if they could patch the tube for me.After I was fixed up, the cyclist looked at my bike laden with panniers.

“Where you going mate?” he asked.

I took a big gulp. “Australia.” I said, with as much confidence as I could muster.

“Ha! Where did you start?” he asked.

“Just over there… About 5 kilometres back” I replied. Admittedly, it hadn’t been the most promising start.

“Ha! Good luck mate!” he said as he pedalled off laughing.Later that day, I rolled off the ferry in France, pointed my front wheel towards Australia, and began to pedal.

In the last 2.5 years, I have cycled 43,000 kilometres, through 33 countries on a budget of $5 per day. The best thing about cycling around the world is that you meet a segment of the world’s 7 billion people. I have met the the best of humanity, sleeping in the home of hundreds, and sharing a meal with thousands.

I’m now writing a book about my bike trip, and will be leaving on the Gold Coast for the next 6 months. I’ll be sharing a story from my trip in each edition of this magazine.

If you’d like to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you;

Email: Josiah.skeats@gmail.com

Website: Josiahskeats.com

Facebook: Josiah Skeats