Rob Goliah is cycling across the world with the aim to finish ahead of the Boxing Day Test
An Englishman has battled deserts, monsoons and rugged roads on a charity ride which started in the UK and is set to finish in Melbourne on Boxing Day.
All roads lead to the Boxing Day Test.
Well for Englishman Rob Goliah, they really do, as he cycles from one Melbourne Cricket Club to its far more famous namesake across the world.
Goliah, with help crossing a couple of seas, has hit Australian shores for the final leg of his journey which started in UK county of Derbyshire in June and includes an average of 150km a day.
He’s pedalling for two charities, Mind and Look Good Feel Better, raising funds for mental health and cancer research.
Goliah is also aiming to tick off 100 bucket list items along the way and his finish line is the iconic Boxing Day Test.
He says his ticket to the fourth Ashes Test has “kept me true to the kilometres” he needs to cover each day.
“I started in a little town called Melbourne which is about 10 miles from my house in Derbyshire, it’s a tiny little village cricket club,” Goliah said.
“The end point is in Melbourne, Victoria, at a slightly bigger cricket club in the MCG.
“I have got my ticket for the Boxing Day Test, that has kept me true to the kilometres on the bike to make sure I get there for that.
“The kilometres I have got to cover now is probably going to be close, I wouldn’t mind getting there for Christmas Day but it might be a Boxing Day morning mad dash.”
The Australian heat would typically be overwhelming for an Englishman, but Goliah has tackled some of the most difficult conditions in the world.
Goliah says two stand out as his most challenging as they tested not only his fitness but his resolve.
“Kazakhstan, which is apparently a beautiful country over in the east, in the west though they’ve got something called The Great Steppe and I turned right once in 2500km,” he said.
“Even though it was very flat, there were hundreds of kilometres between petrol stations, never mind between towns.
“That was a really tricky point in terms of not seeing anything for a long time, then I would say the middle of India was very hard.
“Monsoon was hitting, accommodation options were pretty bleak and some food options as well.
“They’re doing a lot of infrastructure in India which is great but it’s very much in the middle so a lot of the roads were dug up and with their pollution it made the eyes burn a little bit.”
The Kazakhstan leg was made harder by his only injury of the tour.
Goliah was also handed a small fitness reality check when he took on one of Indonesia’s tallest mountains in a day.
“I came off the bike in Kazakhstan, I lost concentration in that long desert area and I think I might have broken my nose,” he said.
“I couldn’t breathe out of my nose for quite a few days, that made it tricky, and then the other one which was funnily enough off the bike.
“I climbed the Rinjani in Indonesia a few days ago in one day and thought, ‘I am cycling a lot so it will be quite similar’ but I have not been able to walk down stairs for the last four days.
“Luckily, I find it easier on the bike than I do walking down stairs.”
Goliah likens the mental and physical toll of waking up each day and getting back on the bike to the challenges of mental health.
“It means a lot from a personal perspective as to how the bike has helped and then my brother and such, he used Mind or used mental health services back home when he was in a dark state,” he said.
“Luckily he’s come out the other side really positively, so it’s also about raising awareness as well and using the bike as an analogy I guess to keep going when days can be long and tough.”
As for Boxing Day, Goliah isn’t sure his countrymen will keep the series alive by then and jokes he may have to place a wager on another Mitchell Starc performance to soften the blow.
You can follow Goliah’s journey and donate to his fundraisers HERE.
Originally published as Rob Goliah is cycling across the world with the aim to finish ahead of the Boxing Day Test
